USA Cricketer : Steven Taylor, USA cricket

USA Cricket: 24 players announced for 2013 USA U-19 selection combine

openingbat — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:02:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

USACA Media Release

After a month of Regional trials across the nation, The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), today announced that it has sent letters of invitation to 24 players to attend its inaugural U19 Combine to be held in Florida from May 31 to June 2, 2013.

An invitation to this inaugural USACA Combine is an honor and it gives players the opportunity to advance their cricket education and be part of the USACA Talented Player Pathway designed to track and support players from the youth level all the way up into the National senior team.

By attending the Combine players will be included in USACA Talented Player database and will be targeted for future skills development. Performance at the local level will be monitored on an on-going basis.

The format of the Combine will include speed, endurance and strength tests and cricketing skills testing along with a series of matches of varying lengths. The Combine also provides the opportunity to assess technical, tactical, physical and mental strengths. All tests will be measurable to allow for direct comparisons between players.

Selwyn Caesar, Chair of USACA National Selection Committee commented “The USACA U19 Combine was designed to prepare players who were identified during the evaluation period. The selected players would be participating in multiple facets of physical training, dexterity and other cricket related activities which would be managed by Mr. Andy Pick, ICC Americas High Performance Manager in conjunction with coaches and other specialist trainers.”

The Combine is one component of the USA National U19 Team preparation for ICC Americas U19 Tournament to be held in Toronto, Canada from July 7 to 15, 2013. Participating countries are USA, Bermuda and Canada. The winner automatically advances to ICC U19 2014 World Cup to be held in UAE.

List of players invited to USACA U19 Combine:

Raj Bhavasar AR
Rishi Patel AR
Ryan Persaud AR
Salman Ahmed CER
Jay Pathak CWR
Vibhav Altekar NWR
Arsh Buch NWR
Krish Goel NWR
Dave Parikh NWR
Roshan Varadarajan NWR
Omar Afridi NYR
Clifford Hamilton NYR
Aown Iqbal NYR
Amarnauth Persaud NYR
Keifer Phill NYR
Travis Ross NYR
Waqas Shah NYR
Randal Wilson NYR
Kwiese Edmondson SER
Patrick Palmer SER
Steven Taylor SER
Omari Williams SER
Shakeel Ahmad SWR
Sahaj Patel SWR

USA Cricket: 2013 ICC WCL Division Three Report Card Part 2 - Player Grades

openingbat — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:17:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Click here for Part 1 - Team Grades

Part 2 - Player Grades

Steven Taylor – C: The 19-year-old started off the tournament in style by posting USA’s second highest score in limited overs cricket, 162 off 102 balls to lead USA to a win over Nepal. Without Taylor’s dominant performance USA might not have won that match. However, he seemed to have exhausted himself in that match. Low scores piled up in the next few games and his confidence wavered heading into the crucial showdown against Bermuda. After scoring a century against Bermuda in a T20 encounter last March in Florida, Taylor was out for 9 against them in the round-robin encounter in Bermuda.

With the pressure off the next day in the third place game, he set about rebuilding his confidence with 97. His huge score against Nepal helped place him atop the tournament run charts after the round-robin stage and his half-century against Bermuda on the final day guaranteed him the same position at the end of the tournament. Unfortunately, he lacked consistency from game to game. Still, USA should not have had to rely solely on Taylor to score runs to register a win over Uganda or Bermuda.

As for his wicketkeeping/fielding skills, Taylor was as likely to hold onto a chance as to put one down. He took six catches and had three stumpings with the gloves on, but DreamCricket.com’s unofficial stats show he also dropped six chances – five behind the stumps and one in the outfield. In T20s, it appears that Akeem Dodson may get more of the wicketkeeping workload to keep Taylor fresh but in the 50-over game Taylor is the preferred option to keep the batting solid. USA won’t be playing a 50-over ICC tourney for at least two years but if they want to continue using Taylor as a keeper instead of a specialist batsman in that format then he needs to work very hard to improve his glovework, not to mention his fitness, to be able to make it through tournaments better.

Orlando Baker – C: The allrounder opened the batting with Steven Taylor on three occasions, producing mixed results. He provided solid support for Taylor on the opening day with 37 as part of a 125-run first-wicket stand, USA’s highest ever partnership against Nepal. Combined with the 156-run third-wicket stand those two had against Bermuda in the third place playoff, they generated the two highest partnerships by any team in Bermuda. He also combined with Akeem Dodson for an important 82-run third wicket stand in their round-robin game.

While he was a very good partnership builder, Baker didn’t enjoy the same amount of success individually. He made 2 against Italy, then scored 20 while facing up to the unenviable task of taking on Oman opening pacer Munis Ansari, before wrapping up the group stage with 1 against Uganda and 29 against Bermuda. He finished with 89 runs at 17.80 after the group stage. In the playoff match, he made 72 and in the process became the third USA player to pass 1,000 career runs in 50-over cricket.

Image (right) - Orlando Baker bowling at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. He was USA's most economical seam bowler at the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

With the ball he was a very restrictive bowler and finished with USA’s second best economy rate, 3.46. He only took one wicket, but had two other chances grassed off his bowling. The conditions against Bermuda on the final day of round-robin play were perfect for Baker’s style of bowling, but USA captain Steve Massiah never gave him the ball, a very curious decision. USA coach Thiru Kumaran stated after the tournament that if he was the captain, he would have definitely given the ball to Baker during Bermuda’s chase. It’s a choice USA may regret for quite a while.

Steve Massiah – D: This is a combination of a C+ for batting and an F for captaincy. Massiah’s highest score was a handy half-century against Italy. After being dropped on 0 off Ansari, Massiah’s 39 against Oman was vital not just for the runs on paper but because he was able to shield the middle and lower order from Ansari’s pace. He top-scored with 24 in USA’s dreadful display against Uganda and then collapsed when the pressure was on in the final round-robin encounter against Bermuda where he was dismissed without scoring. He ended group play with 125 runs at an average of 25.00, then was out first ball in the third place playoff against Bermuda.

His tactical decisions sometimes left a lot to be desired and in some ways were eerily similar to some of the decisions made when USA flopped in Hong Kong at 2011 ICC WCL Division Three. After walking down the pitch in a pressure situation and getting stumped for nought batting at number eight against Oman, Japen Patel was sent in to open in the next game against Uganda. It was as if team management was saying, “We’re afraid this player might fail if he has to enter in a pressure situation later on down the order, so in order to avoid that we’ll send him in to open. Any runs he scores will be a bonus for the team and if he gets out cheaply opening the innings then at least we still have plenty of batsmen to recover.” Disrupting the roles and responsibilities of multiple players to accommodate one player is never a recipe for success. USA proved this by sending Lennox Cush in to open after repeated middle order failures in Hong Kong. USA’s chances for victory against Nepal at Division Four in Malaysia last year were also submarined when Timroy Allen was moved up to number three in the order to shield Massiah, who had been struggling against spin bowling. When USA needed a late surge in that match against Nepal, their best lower order power hitter was back in the pavilion instead of ready to come to the crease.

In the last round-robin match against Bermuda, several strategic errors were made. Slotting Patel in to bat at number nine and not having him bowl was a strange maneuver. Naseer Jamali or Danial Ahmed as specialist bowlers would have been much better options instead of a batsman at number nine. After conceding 20 runs in his only over, Massiah refused to give Hutchinson an opportunity to atone even though he had been USA’s second best wicket-taker coming into the match. Meanwhile, Timroy Allen, who had been struggling with the ball all tournament, was hit for 27 runs off his fourth over but was still brought back for two more spells, albeit bowling spin instead of pace. Allen finished with 1 for 63 off 10 that day.

Massiah also ignored the experienced Orlando Baker, USA’s second most economical bowler in the tournament. Baker is tied for fourth all-time in the wicket-takers list for USA in one-day cricket and has a reputation as a cagey seamer with a nagging line and length that most teams find difficult to score off. Massiah opted to bowl himself instead of Baker. Few, if any other captains, would have tossed the ball to Massiah in those circumstances but he stubbornly bowled himself. With USA needing to keep Bermuda under four an over, he finished with a spell of 1 for 41 in eight overs. Even with only 220 to defend, USA should have beaten Bermuda that day. A combination of poor fielding and poor decision-making before and during the match cost USA not just that game, but a spot in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier.

Sushil Nadkarni – B-: USA’s vice-captain stepped up with a key 73 to bolster USA in a win over Italy and was part of three half-century stands in the tournament, one against Nepal and another two against Italy. He was sent in above Massiah to try to deal with Ansari’s pace against Oman and managed just 7 before making another low score after arriving in the middle order in difficult conditions against Uganda.

Image (left) - Sushil Nadkarni knocks one into the off side against Italy. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Nadkarni took three catches, including the catch of the tournament for USA against Uganda. USA missed him badly against Bermuda when he had to sit out the final two matches of the tournament with a nerve problem in his left leg, especially since Nadkarni had scored a century against Bermuda in the trial matches in March in Florida ahead of Division Three. He finished the tournament with 114 runs at an average of 28.50, fifth on the team in Bermuda.

Rashard Marshall – B: The middle order batsman produced one of USA’s best ever performances under pressure against Oman. Entering in the 10th over with USA 37 for 3, Marshall survived a missed runout chance early in his innings and went on to make Oman pay, cracking four boundaries and six sixes on his way to finishing 72 not out and taking USA to a two-wicket win. He arrived at a stage against Bermuda where he needed to take USA to a much bigger total but he got into a mixup with Barrington Bartley which ended with Marshall going back to the pavilion for 5.

Marshall finished fourth overall in runs and average at the tournament for USA with 128 at 32.00. He took an outstanding one-handed catch against Bermuda, but also grassed three other chances which is unusual for someone of his fielding ability. It was a decent comeback tournament for Marshall after not playing for USA in over two years.

Timroy Allen - C: Like Taylor, Allen was hot with the bat early in the tournament before cooling off later on. He scored two half-centuries in USA’s first two matches, 67 not out against Nepal followed by 51 not out against Italy. Unfortunately, he only scored 24 runs in the other four matches. He played a foolish shot to get out against Uganda, slogging to deep square leg after Baker had gotten out in the same manner a short time earlier. Against Bermuda he reached 19 before being caught on the boundary which hampered USA’s efforts to post a bigger score. Like Taylor, it would be unfair to pin USA’s batting failures at the back end of the tournament on Allen when several players never produced in any game.

With the ball he was a disappointment, taking four wickets at an average of 51.75 with an economy rate of 5.17 during the group stage. He went for more than five an over against Uganda, taking 2 for 37 in seven overs when Uganda only made 175, and was smacked for 27 off one over against Bermuda before finishing with 1 for 63 in 10. A bigger burden was placed on Allen to perform with the ball in the absence of the experienced Usman Shuja but Allen did not respond very well.

Image (right) - Timroy Allen, pictured in action against Uganda, struggled to take wickets in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Barrington Bartley – D: Undoubtedly the poorest performing player on tour. There were high expectations for Bartley after his whirlwind century against Bermuda in a trial match against them in March. He assumed a key middle order role for USA in Bermuda but did not deliver once. Bartley came to the crease at the 37th, 45th, 34th, 26th, 31st and 38th over mark during USA’s six games in Division Three. He was never able to remain until the end of the innings. His longest stay at the crease lasted just 20 deliveries when he made 21 but also contributed to the runout of Marshall against Bermuda. His one redeeming moment with the bat came against Oman when he struck two sixes and a four in his short stay to take USA within seven runs of victory before Marshall and Hutchinson finished the job. The largest partnership Bartley contributed to was a 29-run sixth wicket stand in the round-robin match against Bermuda. Overall, he looked like a Twenty20 slogger who seemed unsure how to approach a 50-over innings, especially during difficult situations.

With the ball he was mediocre, taking three wickets during the group stage at an average of 39.66 and an economy rate of 4.40. He was arguably USA’s best bowler in a losing effort against Uganda, taking 1 for 25 in 10 overs. After his failures with the bat, he had one more chance to save face with the ball against Bermuda but he mixed in boundaries with dots and could not sustain pressure long enough to keep them at bay. He was okay as a fielder but did not do enough with bat or ball.

Neil McGarrell – A-: One of the few players who can hold their head up high after coming back from Bermuda, McGarrell performed at a consistently high level in what may turn out to be his only ICC tournament in a USA uniform. He was USA’s leading wicket-taker and finished the group stage tied for the tournament lead in wickets with 12 at an average of 14.58 and an economy rate of 3.55. He only bowled one truly bad over the entire tournament when he was swept for three boundaries by Laurence Sematimba of Uganda.

He could’ve been even more productive with the ball had five catches not been put down off his bowling, although one of those was a return chance he was responsible for. In the field, he took one catch but managed to shell three chances overall, including a crucial chance off Christopher Douglas at slip when the Bermuda wicketkeeper was on 64. It was the only blemish on his gritty performance that day when he scored 45 not out at number seven and then took 1 for 21 in 10 overs while bowling with a severe quadriceps strain that he suffered near the end of his innings while trying to turn a two into three for Patel.

Japen Patel – C-: USA’s selectors and management have clearly identified Patel as a player they want to develop, but they have demonstrated a bizarre method of doing it. The selectors could be heard in Florida in March talking up his bowling skills as a reason for his inclusion but Patel only bowled a total of seven overs in the tournament, taking two wickets against Oman. It was hard to classify him as a specialist batsman either. He didn’t bat at all against Nepal when USA used eight batsmen, came in twice at nine, once at eight, and opened once during USA’s five group games scratching together 46 runs at an average of 11.50. He eventually added another 34 in the third place playoff against Bermuda batting at number six.

Patel was a player without a clearly defined role. If you were from the opposition, you might be fooled into thinking he was playing for USA as a specialist fielder. Indeed he was an asset for USA in the field, taking two catches and also pulling off two runouts but also spilled two other chances. He was very sharp at attacking the ball and preventing singles from turning into twos while patrolling the boundary.

At the end of the day though, picking someone to bowl one over against Nepal and then not at all against Italy and Bermuda after being penciled in at number nine in the batting order would appear to be a mistaken selection. If Patel is to have a future with USA it would be with his batting, which has improved somewhat since he first made his USA debut in 2011 but still has miles to go to warrant a spot in a starting eleven.

Elmore Hutchinson – B-: Hutchinson had his best tour in a USA uniform and was USA’s best pace bowler on tour. He took eight wickets in the group stage and finished with 10 overall, second behind only McGarrell for USA. His best haul came against Italy, taking 3 for 44 in nine overs, but he also turned in solid figures against Uganda with 1 for 12 in five overs. Hutchinson had a nightmarish over at the start of Bermuda’s chase at the National Stadium, conceding four boundaries to Christopher Douglas as part of a 20-run frame, and was never given the ball again that day.

With the bat he finished with USA’s highest average on tour, scoring 52 runs while being dismissed only once, which says as much about his own batting abilities as it does about the impatience of those batting in front of him. He hit the winning single in a two-wicket victory over Oman and also finished 17 not out off 35 balls against Uganda, the third most runs scored and third most deliveries faced by a USA batsman that day, proving that it was possible to knock the ball around for singles for those with the patience to do so. Hutchinson also had a fairly safe pair of hands on the boundary with three catches while his only drop was a sharp caught and bowled chance. It’s a shame that his next 50-over ICC tournament might not be for another two years because he made solid strides in this event.

Muhammad Ghous – B+: This was one of the more impressive tournament performances of Ghous’ career in the men’s national team. Unfortunately it had to come in what was ultimately a third place finish. He was USA’s most economical bowler and finished with a 3.42 economy rate overall in the tournament. Along with McGarrell’s 10-over spell, the initial eight-over spell by Ghous of 0 for 21 in eight overs against Bermuda was the only thing keeping USA in that match.

Image (left) - Muhammad Ghous was USA's most economical bowler at 2013 WCL Division Three. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

He only took five wickets in the group stage but also had five drops off his bowling in the tournament and batsmen found him difficult to get away. His only subpar match was against Uganda and even then he went for under five runs per over, finishing with 1 for 37 in eight overs. His four wickets against Bermuda in the third place playoff took him to a tie with Allen and Howard Johnson for ninth all-time in the wickets column for USA in one-day cricket with 31. He turned 23 in April so even though USA failed to reach the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier, if they continue to play a 50-over ICC tournament every few years then Ghous may eventually become USA’s highest ever wicket-taker in the format.

Akeem Dodson – Incomplete: The reserve wicketkeeper on tour came into USA’s lineup for the final round-robin encounter against Bermuda and scored a half-century, USA’s high score on the day. He only came in as a result of an injury to Sushil Nadkarni, but USA might have been better served playing him earlier in the tour as a wicketkeeper to allow Taylor to play as a specialist batsman and ease his workload.

Naseer Jamali – Incomplete: Did not play in any of the five round-robin matches and took 1 for 21 in four overs against Bermuda in the third place playoff.

Danial Ahmed – Incomplete: Did not play in any of the five round-robin matches and took 0 for 38 in eight overs against Bermuda in the third place playoff.

Coming up in Part 3 – Outlook for USA’s 50-over future

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author who was present at all of the team's matches. If you have differing views or opinions, we respect those views and urge you to provide your feedback - both positive and negative - in the comments section.]

USA Cricket: 2013 ICC WCL Division Three Report Card Part 1 - Team Grades

openingbat — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:18:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Part 1 - Team Grades

Batting – C+: USA had the tournament’s highest scorer after the group stage and overall in Steven Taylor. They also had eight of the 12 highest partnerships in the tournament, with two century stands and seven half-century stands overall. Unfortunately, USA’s batting lacked the overall consistency from the beginning to the end of the tournament as well as from the top to the bottom of the order.

The team scored one century and eight half-centuries, but also compiled eight ducks. The first wicket partnership of Taylor and Orlando Baker produced 125 runs on the first day, USA’s best ever partnership against Nepal, but after that the first wicket partnership averaged just 6.20 the rest of the tournament.

Image (left) - Steven Taylor acknowledges his USA teammates after reaching 100 against Nepal on the opening day of the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA’s best opening tandem in 50-over cricket is Taylor and Sushil Nadkarni. Although USA has had a long established strategy of slotting Nadkarni down the order against Nepal, there was no reason why he should not have been opening in the other matches he played. USA coach Thiru Kumaran stated after Nadkarni missed the crucial round-robin showdown against Bermuda that, “Sushil getting injured and not coming in, maybe that could have affected us a little bit. Being an important game, we didn’t have our best player, our best opener there.”

If Nadkarni is USA’s best player and best opener, it stands to reason that he should have been opening throughout the tournament but he never opened the batting once for USA and that hurt them in the end. The most surprising pair sent out to open was Japen Patel with Taylor against Uganda. Patel is a player who has shown some improvement with his batting and USA’s administration is eager for him to develop, but he has no business batting above Nadkarni under any circumstances, let alone open above him.

USA’s best partnerships of the tournament came for the third wicket where they averaged 71.83. Baker and Taylor produced USA’s best partnership from that spot in the third place game, 156 runs against Bermuda. USA also had half-century stands for the third wicket against Nepal (Taylor and Nadkarni), Italy (Massiah and Nadkarni) and against Bermuda in the last round-robin game (Baker and Dodson).

USA’s middle to lower order partnerships were strong when the pressure was off in the third place game against Bermuda and after a huge platform had been set against Nepal, but otherwise the segment of the game where Aditya Thyagarajan usually specializes in fell apart for USA in his absence. They averaged 14.17 for the fifth wicket and 6.83 for the sixth wicket in the tournament. USA put up a 93-run unbeaten stand for the seventh wicket against Nepal, but in the other four group games they averaged 12.50 for the seventh wicket. Thyagarajan’s ability to put together partnerships in the middle and lower order was sorely missed especially against Oman, Uganda and Bermuda.

Worst of all was the cardinal sin committed by not batting out all 50 overs against Uganda. It cost USA by the end of the tournament when the net run rate tiebreaker came into play. The team shot themselves in the foot multiple times in that match with foolish shots to get out and displayed an inability to rotate the strike. The game plan appeared to be for batsmen to slog their way out of trouble or get out doing it. Uganda scored 92 runs off ones and twos in that match while USA could only manage 36 runs off singles and doubles. No matter how difficult the pitch was in the second innings, that’s poor.

Overall, USA benefitted greatly from missed chances by their opponents. The tournament could have turned out much worse for USA had they not had such good fortune at the crease, although USA more than repaid it in the field against Bermuda. Opponents committed less drops than USA in the field, but USA punished their opponents more for each drop. USA's opponents conceded 14 missed chances during the group stage, but USA seized an extra 354 runs off the misses. Four times a USA batsman finished not out after being dropped. After the first time a batsman was dropped, USA averaged 44.25 extra runs. The most valuable second chance USA had during the group stage was when Oman goofed up a runout opportunity when Rashard Marshall was on 12. The bowler dislodged the bails without the ball in his hand and Marshall went on to win the match for USA by making 72 not out in a two-wicket win.

Bowling – B: USA’s bowling unit performed well for most of the tournament with their only glaring letdown coming during the Christopher Douglas ambush in the last group match against Bermuda. USA allowed just three half-centuries during the tournament, but allowed eight half-century stands during the event, including two in that crucial match against Bermuda. Neil McGarrell was tied for first atop the wickets list after the group stage with 12.

Image (right) - USA fast bowler Elmore Hutchinson on his approach to the crease. Hutchinson finished second on the team with 10 wickets in the tournament. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA’s opening bowlers were good at making early breakthroughs. The opposition averaged 13.50 for the first wicket and twice the opposition lost their first wicket without scoring. But the biggest opening stand came at the worst possible time for USA, 43 by Bermuda in their upset win on the last day of round-robin play. The opposition’s best partnerships were for the fourth wicket with an average stand of 37.00 including two-half century stands produced by Bermuda and Uganda. Each of those stands could have been curtailed had USA converted catching or runout opportunities provided to them in the field.

USA also lacked a killer instinct to wipe out the tail, something they have struggled with in the past, as Steve Massiah’s preferred method of captaincy is to let a match drag on rather than go for the kill. As a result, the ninth wicket stand for the opposition averaged 27.40. Noteworthy partnerships of 44 and 41 were produced by Nepal and Oman, something that turned out to be crucial by the end of the tournament when the net run rate tiebreaker came into play.

Fielding – F: USA missed 24 definite chances in the tournament (19 drops and five missed runouts), an average of four per game, while numerous other runout half-chances were missed in the field. Many teams have varied levels of batting and bowling skills, but the two things that every international side can do to narrow any gap against their opponent is to outwork them with fitness and fielding. USA always lags behind in both areas and it keeps their opponents in games.

USA had 19 missed chances during the group stage with the chances coming off 10 batsmen. On six occasions in the group stage, USA gave the same player multiple lives and on three of those occasions they dropped a player three times in one innings. After a batsman’s first missed chance, USA gave up an average of 24.33 extra runs to that player during the group stage, conceding a total of 219 runs overall after missed chances in their first five games. On average, USA conceded an extra 36.50 runs per game in the group stage on missed chances.

The costliest miss came against Nepal, when number seven batsman Sharad Vesawkar was dropped on 0, the first of three extra lives he was given, and made 72. USA’s fielding was horrendous against Bermuda, with six definite missed chances and many more half-chance runout opportunities lost. At 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia, Singapore began a frantic chase on the last day against USA by stealing sharp singles at will in the first nine overs. A direct hit by Ryan Corns in the 10th over put Singapore on notice that they could no longer keep challenging USA in the field the way they had been and suddenly the pressure shifted onto Singapore as USA strangled the scoring rate.

All it would have taken was a single runout in the first 15-20 overs to put off Bermuda from stealing those sharp singles at the National Stadium on the final day of round-robin play in Hamilton. USA’s fielders did not score a direct hit the entire afternoon, whether or not a batsman had his bat across the line, and on multiple occasions fielders panicked under pressure by choosing the wrong end to throw to. Many other opportunities could have been converted with an accurate throw to wicketkeeper Akeem Dodson over the stumps. Instead, throws short-hopped into his feet or were wide enough of the stumps that he had to dive just to save them from turning into extra runs on overthrows. USA finally converted a run out in the 35th over, by which time Bermuda had run away with the match. Bermuda reached the target in the 45th.

Fitness – C-: USA’s fitness was good in the early stages of the tournament, but flagged as the tournament continued and was a contributing factor in their losses to Uganda and Bermuda. Taylor was well conditioned at the start of the tournament and his 162 against Nepal was chanceless.

However, he appeared to be weighed down by wicketkeeping on top of opening the batting as the event wore on. The team’s flagging fitness had a definite impact against Bermuda with so many sloppy fumbles, misfields, misfired throws and drops. It’s not as if Bermuda’s fitness was much better with two batsmen, Douglas and Stephen Outerbridge, struggling through their innings while cramping up. Yet they managed to find a way past it while USA was hampered.

USA will have plenty of time to work on their fitness though. By finishing out of the top two in Bermuda, their next 50-over ICC tournament won’t be for another two years.

Coming up in Part 2 - Player Grades

USA Cricket: Taylor's 97 delivers 30-run consolation win over Bermuda at 2013 WCL Division Three

openingbat — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:12:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA opener Steven Taylor top scored with 97 as USA achieved a 30-run win over Bermuda in the third place playoff match at St. David’s Cricket Club in Bermuda on Sunday at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. Taylor was named Man of the Match for his knock and finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 274 runs in six games, 82 runs ahead of the next man on the list, Italy’s Peter Petricola with 192.

“If we could have done it yesterday that would have been really sweet,” USA coach Thiru Kumaran said after the match. “The thing about today’s match is if we win this it’s not really important but if you lose you go back really, really sad. So it was really important to win this game and guys played really well. They understood what they did wrong yesterday. They played a really good game today.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat making two changes to the side that lost on Saturday to Bermuda at the National Stadium. Danial Ahmed and Naseer Jamali both got their first games of the tournament in place of Rashard Marshall and the injured Neil McGarrell. Sushil Nadkarni also stayed out with a pinched nerve that has been causing numbness in his left leg. Meanwhile, two of Bermuda’s heroes from Saturday, Man of the Match Christopher Douglas and captain Stephen Outerbridge, sat out along with Lionel Cann in favor of Greg Maybury, Jason Anderson and Curt Stovell with Rodney Trott serving as the stand-in captain.

USA got off to a slow start initially with two wickets falling inside the first four overs. Akeem Dodson opened with Taylor but only lasted nine balls before he was caught for 4 flicking a full toss from the off-spin of Stovell to Tre Manders at deep square leg. Steve Massiah was caught behind for a golden duck after edging an attempted cut off Janeiro Tucker’s medium pace to make it back-to-back ducks against Bermuda for USA’s captain as the tourists slipped to 15 for 2.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor goes to sweep early in his innings of 97 vs. Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Taylor was joined by Orlando Baker and the pair produced USA’s largest partnership of the tournament, 156 runs for the third wicket. Taylor had earlier offered a chance on 5 and produced another one on 9, both driving to the catching fielder at short extra cover, but Taylor moved on in quick fashion to punish Bermuda’s bowlers early and often through the off side. He brought up his 50 in 48 balls with his seventh boundary, smashed through the covers in the 18th over which ended with USA on 89 for 2. The partnership ended with Taylor one shot away from his second century of the tournament when he pushed Stovell softly to Rodney Trott at cover in the circle to make it 171 for 3 in the 32nd.

“Steven, he got to a brilliant start in this tournament, 160 [sic 162 vs. Nepal],” Kumaran said. “He hit every ball that was there for him to hit, but the wickets didn’t play well. He continued playing the same game but he didn’t adapt to the different wickets. So today I think, after we spoke to him so many times, today I think he adapted to the wicket. He settled himself in. He paced his innings beautifully. After the innings, I spoke with him. This is how most of your innings will be. One in ten will be the kind of 160 [sic 162] he scored against Nepal. So hopefully he learns from this experience and can give us a consistent run all the time.”

Timroy Allen entered at five as USA approached the batting power play looking for a boost, particularly with Marshall not in the lineup, but he only managed 4 when he was bowled by Treadwell Gibbons after missing a swipe across the line to make it 193 for 4 in the 37th. Baker was out in the following over for 72, giving a return catch to Stovell, but not before becoming the third batsman to pass 1,000 runs in 50-over cricket for USA.

Image (left) - Orlando Baker runs between the wickets for USA. On Sunday, Baker joined Steve Massiah and Sushil Nadkarni as the only three USA players to score 1000 runs in 50-over cricket. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Stovell claimed his fourth when Barrington Bartley was bowled for 1 to make it 199 for 6 in the 40th. USA managed to score just 12 runs for the loss of three wickets during their five-over batting power play between the 35th and 40th overs.

Elmore Hutchinson and Japen Patel got things back on track for USA with a 62-run partnership for the seventh wicket to take USA to a defendable total. It included 18 runs plundered off Tucker in the 48th over, including a six by Hutchinson over long off that nearly struck a man on a moped as he was driving out of the parking lot at the ground. Patel was dismissed with four balls to go in the innings for 34, slicing an edge to Jacobi Robinson at short third man for 34. Muhammad Ghous and Hutchinson each took a boundary and a single off the final four balls to take USA to their final total of 271 for 7. Stovell finished with 4 for 38 for Bermuda’s best figures on the day.

On Saturday, Douglas toyed with USA’s bowling unit while opening the innings for Bermuda but Stovell experienced something entirely different in his place at the top of the order, trapped LBW by Jamali on the first ball of the chase. His fellow opener Gibbons made 5 before he was bowled by Hutchinson going for a slog over midwicket to make it 22 for 2 in the sixth. Manders became the first scalp for Ghous on the day, edging to Massiah at slip for 18 to make it 44 for 3 in the 12th.

Bermuda had their first solid partnership of the day forged by Anderson and David Hemp as the two experienced batsmen added 57 for the fourth wicket. Hemp looked set for a long stay but he was bowled for 45 by Allen’s off-spin when he could not keep out a full length delivery to make it 101 for 4 in the 26th. Anderson went two overs later, caught for 30 by Dodson running out from behind the stumps after a bat pad chance ballooned into the air toward square leg.

Bermuda still had plenty of fight left though as Malachi Jones and Tucker added 61 for the sixth wicket in just 8.4 overs. Each man took on USA’s spinners, belting Allen and Bartley out of the attack before taking Hutchinson for 11 runs in the 36th over at the start of the power play. It was left to Ghous to break the stand, pinning Jones for 29 with a ball that kept low to make it 171 for 6 in the 37th. Ghous also claimed Tucker for 34 to end the 39th when the batsmen was bowled while backing away from the stumps trying to clear the off side field.

Hutchinson claimed Trott for 2 to make it 182 for 8 in the 40th. Yet Bermuda still refused to give in as Robinson entered at number nine and attacked Bartley for 18 in the 42nd. After being dropped off a skied chance to mid on earlier in the over, Robinson made USA pay with back-to-back sixes slogged over the leg side. His luck ran out when he gave Ghous the charge in the following over and was stumped for 31. The match ended in the 49th when Taylor’s off spin claimed Delray Rawlins LBW for 9 as Bermuda was bowled out for 241 in 48.4 overs. Ghous fell just short of his first five-wicket haul for USA at the senior level, taking 4 for 43 in his 10 overs to lead USA in the field.

In the 2013 WCL Division Three Championship match at the National Stadium in Hamilton, Nepal got revenge over Uganda in their rematch from the second day of the tournament, beating them by five wickets to claim the tournament title. Uganda won the toss and batted but could only muster 151 for 8 with Deusdedit Muhumuza’s 28 finishing as the top score. In response, Nepal tumbled to 30 for 3 but opener Pradeep Airee weathered the early storm to score 60 and put on 77 in partnership with Sharad Vesawkar for the fourth wicket. Vesawkar saw his side over the line with 50 not out as Nepal chased the target in 39.2 overs.

Oman ensured that Italy finished the tournament winless with a five-wicket win over the European side at Somerset Cricket Club in the fifth place playoff. Italy won the toss and batted first, posting 207. Captain Alessandro Bonora scored 42 while Oman speedster Munis Ansari took 4 for 72 and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker after claiming 16 scalps in six matches. Oman completed their chase in 44.5 overs with Zeeshan Siddiqui making 64 to lead the way. Italy looked like they might pull off their first win with Oman at 148 for 5 in the 36th over, but Amir Ali and Sultan Ahmed added 60 in an unbeaten sixth wicket stand as Ali finished 42 not out in 39 balls.

Nepal and Uganda will now advance to the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. USA’s next tour will take place in July when they head to Edmonton, Alberta for the 2013 Auty Cup. However, USA’s next 50-over tournament in ICC competition may not be until 2015 when the next Division Three is anticipated to take place.

USA Cricket: Bermuda stops USA from reaching 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier with stunning 5-wicket win

openingbat — Sun, 05 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

A stunning assault at the start of the second innings from Bermuda wicketkeeper Christopher Douglas was the catalyst for a major upset on Saturday as Bermuda beat USA in ICC tournament play for the first time since 2005, winning by five wickets with 5.2 overs to spare at the National Stadium on Saturday at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Bermuda. Douglas was named Man of the Match after blindsiding USA with 89 off 75 balls, including a half-century off 25 balls to take Bermuda to 70 for 1 after eight overs chasing USA’s 220 for 9 and Bermuda never looked back on their way to victory.

The loss for USA denied them a spot in the top two at Division Three and along with it a berth in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier as Nepal’s rapid 8-wicket chase over Italy at St. David’s Cricket Club took them level with USA and Bermuda on points and past USA on net run rate. Meanwhile the win for Bermuda meant they avoided relegation to Division Four after Oman beat Uganda by seven wickets at Somerset Cricket Club.

“The wicket was a little bit dicey when we batted,” USA coach Thiru Kumaran said after the game. “We thought it would be the same for them but I think it dried out a bit, got a little bit easier to bat. It was a good innings by their opener. I thought we had him caught behind but it was not given and also we dropped like four catches for him and those things made us lose the game.”

USA won the toss and batted first under clear skies but had to go into the match without Sushil Nadkarni, who missed the game with what was believed to be a pinched nerve that was causing numbness in his right leg. Akeem Dodson replaced him in the eleven and scored a half-century, but overall USA struggled without the presence of their vice-captain.

Steven Taylor’s rough tournament since the opening match against Nepal continued when he was dismissed in the third over by fast bowler Malachi Jones, caught at first slip by Janeiro Tucker for 9 to make it 13 for 1. Since Taylor’s 162 against Nepal on the opening day, he has scored 15 runs in four matches. USA captain Steve Massiah was the next victim claimed by Jones, gone for a 10-ball duck edging to Tucker in the slips to make it 20 for 2 in the seventh.

Dodson got off to a shaky start, dropped on 1 at slip by Jones off Tucker, and crawled to 2 off 31 balls as Tucker bowled four consecutive maidens in a disciplined opening spell while extracting sharp bounce off the pitch that troubled USA’s batsmen. Dodson was shepherded by Orlando Baker until the pair finally started ticking over the runs.

Image (right) - Akeem Dodson raises his bat after reaching 50 vs. Bermuda [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

They added 82 for the third wicket before Tucker came back for another spell and dismissed Baker for 27 as the batsman tried to sweep him and a top edge popped up for Douglas to claim. Dodson fell two balls after reaching his 50, lofting off-spinner Jacobi Robinson to Jones running to his right at long off to make it 108 for 4 in the 32nd.

USA’s plans at accelerating to a total in the 250 range were scrambled when Bartley and Marshall got into a mixup attempting a third run that resulted in Marshall being runout for 5. Marshall swept a full ball through fine leg for an easy two with Tre Manders needing to run a long way from deep square leg to cut the ball off. Bartley called late for a third run coming back to the striker’s end. Marshall did not look interested in the run but after seeing Bartley continue to charge in his direction, took off late for the opposite end. Manders relayed a throw to Hemp adjacent to the stumps at the striker’s end before Hemp fired a direct hit to the bowler’s end to find Marshall several yards short.

Bartley got out two overs into the batting power play for 21, caught behind trying to slog 15-year-old left-arm spinner Delray Rawlins to make it 140 for 6 in the 37th. Neil McGarrell and Timroy Allen added 36 across 8.3 overs for the seventh wicket before Allen got out trying to accelerate, caught at long on for 19 to make it 176 for 7 with 29 balls to go in the innings.

McGarrell was joined by Japen Patel and the pair put on 29 runs before McGarrell injured his right leg attempting a third run for Patel in the 49th over. McGarrell’s leg got stuck in the turf while turning for the run and his leg buckled, resulting in a lengthy delay on the field. When play eventually resumed, McGarrell stayed on the field and batted on one leg but the break seemed to stall USA’s momentum and cause a lapse in concentration as Patel sliced the next ball to point to go for 12. Hutchinson entered and was dismissed first ball in identical fashion to Patel off the bowling of Treadwell Gibbons to make it 206 for 9.

McGarrell was able to strike a four and a six in the last over to boost USA to their final total of 220. Jones finished with 3 for 48 for Bermuda while Tucker’s valuable spell resulted in 1 for 30. Rawlins also responded well to a pressure situation playing in his first game of the tournament and took 1 for 39 in his 10-over spell. USA’s total seemed like it would be enough to defend but their substandard fielding, which had been masked by big totals earlier in the tournament against Nepal and Italy, finally came back to haunt them at the worst possible time.

At St. David’s Cricket Club to the east of the island, Nepal had restricted Italy to 127 and with a quick chase on the horizon to improve their net run rate, it was clear USA needed a victory to finish in the top two. Yet, Bermuda sent USA a clear message that they would not be lying down to let their regional partner take a spot in the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier when Douglas blasted four boundaries in the second over off Hutchinson as part of a 20-run frame.

USA jabbed back in the sixth when Allen’s pace claimed Gibbons, caught by Patel running in from mid on for 4 to make it 43 for 1. Douglas came straight back in Allen’s next over with a series of body blows that floored USA, tearing into Allen for three boundaries and a pair of sixes to finish off the over, the second of which brought up his 50. By this point Nepal was wrapping up the chase against Italy in just 14.5 overs, putting them past USA on net run rate and leaving no doubt that if USA lost it would be Nepal joining Uganda at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier.

The partnership between Douglas and Manders added 52 for Bermuda when Manders was caught by Massiah at slip off McGarrell for 13. The left-arm spinner produced a valiant all-round display and finished with 1 for 21 in his 10-over spell, but USA’s other bowlers failed to give him enough support.

Douglas tired himself out after his early onslaught and was begging to be dismissed as he offered the first of three chances off when on 64, dropped at slip by McGarrell off Ghous. His second chance was offered on 71 off McGarrell, put down by Taylor at long on after the fielder reacted slowly to the ball driven in the air toward him on the boundary. The third chance left on the table came when he was on 82 off Massiah, missed at extra cover by Marshall.

Douglas’ charmed stay finally came to an end in the 31st after a brilliant one-handed effort from Marshall at extra cover off Massiah to make it 139 for 3. With both teams under pressure, it looked like Bermuda might be starting to crack as Hemp ran himself out for 11 to end the 35th, making it 156 for 4.

However, USA’s fielding became more and more ragged as Bermuda stole single after single off them inside the 30-yard circle. Multiple run out chances were missed as USA failed to hit the stumps a single time down the stretch, whether the batsman had made his ground or not. The 41st over bowled by Massiah was the straw that broke the camel’s back for USA.

Bermuda entered the frame at 179 for 4 needing 42 in 10 overs to win. Allen missed a runout chance with Tucker on 15 by throwing to the wrong end on the first ball of the over, after which Massiah called the entire team in for a huddle for a last ditch motivational speech. It didn’t have the desired effect as Ghous dropped Tucker at point on 16 to end the over.

“You cannot drop five catches and expect to win in a tight game,” Kumaran said. “Today we dropped straightforward three or four catches and one maybe a 50/50 chance and there were so many runout opportunities we missed. I think basically you need to be on top of all departments to win a tight game. Today we were a little bit lacking in opening bowling, we didn’t get it right and then with the fielding and catching.”

Bartley conceded nine in the 42nd followed by another 14 given away by Massiah in the 43rd. Despite a brief hiccup with the dismissal of Stephen Outerbridge for 37, Bermuda cantered to victory with the winning run raised in the 45th over courtesy of a wide bowled by Taylor.

Image (above) - Nepal fans were waving the Bermuda flag and vice versa after Bermuda helped Nepal into the top two with a win over USA. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA and Bermuda will have a rematch on Sunday in the third place game at St. David’s Cricket Club while Uganda and Nepal will square off for the tournament title at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Oman and Italy, who have both been relegated to Division Four, will play in the fifth place playoff at Somerset Cricket Club. Live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation of USA’s final match against Bermuda begins at 10 a.m. in Bermuda, 9 a.m. EST on the east coast in America.

USA Cricket: Uganda spinners rip through USA for 93, win by 82 runs at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three

openingbat — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:25:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Uganda captain Davis Arinaitwe’s aggressive use of a four-pronged spin bowling unit was too much for USA to handle on a turning track as the African side bowled out USA for 93 to seal an 82-run win at St. David’s Cricket Club in Bermuda on Thursday at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three. Uganda wicketkeeper Laurence Sematimba was named Man of the Match after his joint top score of 44 as part of a 79-run partnership with Benjamin Musoke was the deciding factor in a low scoring game. Uganda’s win moved them to 4-0 and clinched a spot for them at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand while the loss dropped USA into second place in the tournament at 3-1.

“Today, we came into this game as a team wanting to put in a lot of intensity and bubble in the field,” USA vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said after the loss. “I think basically if you look at the entire game, the wicket and the toss had a lot to do with the final outcome because when we started playing our innings, the ball was breaking really hard and there was a lot of uneven bounce which, when they started, it wasn’t as much. Not to give any excuses, but full credit to Uganda. They played a great game.”

Uganda won the toss and elected to bat first as USA fielded the same starting eleven for the fourth match in a row. The first wicket fell four balls into the match when Timroy Allen’s pace was too quick for Arthur Zirabe and the Uganda opener was dismissed without scoring. Number three Roger Mukasa also fell for a duck in the fourth over to Elmore Hutchinson, caught behind by Steven Taylor to make it 12 for 2. Opener Arthur Kyobe was scoring at a brisk pace, but the most aggressive innings of the day ended on 29 when he tried to slog Neil McGarrell over long on but was caught on the boundary by Hutchinson to make it 47 for 3 after 12.

Sematimba joined Musoke at the crease as both sides began to wager an attritional battle for the rest of the innings. USA tried to apply pressure by drying up runs on a pitch where the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat, but Sematimba and Musoke were patient enough to wait for the singles to come without panicking at the slow scoring rate and then seized on the few boundary scoring opportunities presented to them. USA strung together three consecutive maidens to make it 56 for 3 after 19 as Massiah put two slips and a silly point in place. Sematimba was struggling early on and was on 2 off 22 balls but found a way to ease some of the pressure by sweeping McGarrell for three boundaries behind square leg in the 22nd to take the score to 71.

Image (above) - Uganda wicketkeeper Laurence Sematimba goes to sweep Neil McGarrell for one of three boundaries in the 22nd over. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The run rate hovered around three per over through the rest of the innings, but the stand between Sematimba and Musoke lasted until the 40th over, giving Uganda a strong platform for a late surge. Musoke was eventually dismissed for 44, caught by Hutchinson at long on off Barrington Bartley, who was USA’s most effective bowler on the day and eventually finished with 1 for 25 in 10.

Deusdedit Muhumuza was runout for 2 by a direct hit from Allen to make it 129 for 5 in the 42nd and four balls later Sematimba was trapped LBW by Muhammad Ghous to make it 131 for 6. The second of four runouts in the innings took place in the 44th when Arinaitwe got into a mixup with Frank Nsubuga and was left stranded halfway down the pitch as Massiah tossed to Taylor to take off the bails making it 137 for 7 and it looked like USA might restrict Uganda to under 150.

Nsubuga and Richard Okia played key hands down the order though to provide Uganda with enough insurance runs. Nsubuga struck a four and a six in his run a ball 16 before he was brilliantly caught by Nadkarni running back from point to give Allen his second, making it 155 for 8 one ball into the 47th. Charles Waiswa was runout by Japen Patel for 2 to make it 162 for 9 with nine balls remaining in the innings and Henry Senyondo was runout for 7 trying to stretch a two into three as Uganda finished on 175 in 49.5 overs.

USA promoted Patel up the order to open with Taylor and it produced mixed results. Patel wound up with USA’s second highest score in the innings, but Taylor was dismissed without scoring for the second match in a row. Left-arm seamer Waiswa bowled a length ball that Taylor tried to swat over midwicket but a skied edge swirled in the air before coming down into the gloves of Sematimba behind the stumps to make it 4 for 1 in the third over. Patel’s aggression produced quick runs but also led to his downfall in the ninth. After clubbing a six off the second ball over long on and a boundary off the fifth ball bowled by Arinaitwe, Patel went for another big heave and was bowled to make it 22 for 2.

Image (right) - Uganda captain Davis Arinaitwe made things tough for USA in the field and finished with 2 for 15 in eight overs. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Arinaitwe conceded 10 in his first over, but stifled USA thereafter to finish with 2 for 15 in 8 overs. Nadkarni was locked down at one end while Massiah tried to keep the scoreboard moving at the other, driving a pair of sixes straight down the ground. However, USA struggled to find singles and rotate the strike. Uganda scored 92 runs off of singles and doubles in their innings while USA managed just 36 runs off ones and twos.

Nadkarni’s dogged resistance finally ended when he came forward to defend and edged Arinaitwe to Musoke at slip for 6 to make it 39 for 3 in the 17th. Orlando Baker tried to clear deep square leg with a slog sweep but picked out the man on the rope for 1 as Mukasa claimed his first wicket to make it 50 for 4 one ball into the 20th over and it was clear that USA was going to struggle the rest of the way.

USA’s last hope of victory was an extended stay at the crease by Massiah. However, he was defeated by a sharp spinning delivery from Mukasa that stayed a touch low and pinned him LBW for 24 to spark a middle order collapse as USA lost four wickets for three runs. Bartley spooned a return catch to left-arm spinner Senyondo for 1 before Allen repeated Baker’s mistake and was caught for 1 trying to slog Mukasa over deep square leg. Marshall made 7 before a leading edge gifted Senyondo his second caught and bowled dismissal to finish the slide as USA went for 65 for 4 to 68 for 8.

“I think if you look at the way this goes, you can’t get too much into a shell,” Nadkarni said. “The bowlers have the upper hand and Uganda bowlers were pretty experienced. They were turning the ball pretty well and the speed with which they were bowling was pretty good. They weren’t giving us much. So the guys did their bid in trying to break free and score a few runs instead of getting bogged down just defending the ball all the time. I think at the end of the day it is what it is and we need to look forward as a team.”

Image (above) - Uganda allrounder Roger Mukasa raises his arms in joy after a successful LBW appeal to dismiss USA captain Steve Massiah for 24. Mukasa finished with 3 for 29 on the day. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Hutchinson and McGarrell engineered USA’s longest partnership of the match, lasting 10.5 overs to add 25 runs for the ninth wicket as USA’s priorities shifted from winning the match to batting for as long as possible in order to avoid taking a severe hit to their net run rate, which is the tournament’s tiebreaker. McGarrell finally lost patience at the end of the 39th when he lofted Waiswa to Mukasa at long on to depart for 7. Ghous started the next over on strike and was struck on the back leg on the first ball he faced from Nsubuga to be given out for a golden duck and put an end to the match. Mukasa finished with Uganda’s best figures on the day, taking 3 for 29 while Arinaitwe’s tight spell leaves him entrenched as the tournament’s most economical bowler with a 1.69 economy rate in 35.2 overs.

The total of 93 was tied for USA’s ninth lowest all time, matching the 93 they made against Nepal in a 96-run loss in the third place playoff match at 2008 ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey. USA’s net run rate dipped from +1.540 to +0.690 with the wide margin of defeat to Uganda. However, they still control their own destiny for promotion out of Division Three. A win over Bermuda on Saturday at the National Stadium will clinch a spot for USA at the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier.

History is on USA’s side as they have not lost to Bermuda in ICC tournament play since 2005 when they suffered a 113-run defeat at the ICC Trophy in Ireland. USA is 6-3 vs. Bermuda all-time in limited overs cricket and has never lost to Bermuda at the National Stadium in Hamilton, holding a 4-0 record over Bermuda at the ground with wins over the host side in two 50-over games, one Twenty20 and a three-day Intercontinental Cup match in addition to a pair of draws in a three-day and two-day match played at the National Stadium in the 1970s.

Even if USA loses, they could still advance to the 2014 ICC World Cup Qualifier because they currently hold a +.704 lead over Nepal in the tiebreaker category and a +1.649 advantage over Bermuda. Nepal and Bermuda would have to win on Saturday and also make up that sizeable difference to go past USA into second place.

In Thursday’s other matches, Nepal defeated Oman by 28 runs in what was essentially an elimination match at the National Stadium. Nepal’s hopes of a top two finish were kept alive at 2-2 while Oman is no longer in contention for promotion at 1-3 and must beat Uganda on Saturday to avoid relegation to Division Four. Nepal was sent in to bat and restricted to 160 for 9 with Gyanendra Malla making 34 to lead Nepal. Oman was 68 for 2 in the 24th over but collapsed against Nepal’s spinners to be bowled out for 132 in 46.4 overs.

Italy remains winless and secured relegation to Division Four with a 60-run loss to Bermuda at Somerset Cricket Club. Bermuda won the toss and batted first making 284. Tre Manders scored 64 at number three after the loss of both openers early while 40-year-old Lionel Cann entered in the 35th over with the score at 135 for 5 and produced a stunning century off 45 balls, finishing with 113 off 48 deliveries before being dismissed in the final over. Peter Petricola and Carl Sandri each scored 66 for Italy but they were eventually bowled out for 224 in 44 overs. The win keeps Bermuda’s slim hopes alive of reaching Division Three.

After a day off on Friday, all teams play their final round-robin match of the tournament on Saturday. Uganda goes for an undefeated group stage run against Oman at Somerset CC with Oman needing a win to avoid being relegated to Division Four. Nepal plays Italy at St. David’s CC and needs not only to win but must hope Bermuda defeats USA and also erase the .704 deficit in net run rate to leapfrog USA into second place. Bermuda must defeat USA by a massive margin to have any hope of finishing in second place, but just as important a win for them would mean avoiding relegation while a loss coupled with an Oman win over Uganda could see Bermuda relegated with Italy.

DreamCricket.com’s live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation of the USA national team at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three continues on Saturday with USA taking on Bermuda at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time, 9:30 a.m. on the east coast in the USA with live coverage on DreamCricket beginning at 10 a.m. in Bermuda.

USA Cricket: Taylor's 162 paves way for 94-run win over Nepal at 2013 ICC WCL Division Three

openingbat — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:35:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Bermuda (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Bermuda at 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Teenage wicketkeeper-batsman Steven Taylor’s sterling knock of 162 in 102 balls opening the innings set the tone for the rest of the match as USA’s total of 366 for 6 was more than enough to defend on the way to a 92-run win over Nepal at Somerset Cricket Club on Sunday at the 2013 ICC WCL Division Three tournament in Bermuda. Taylor was named Man of the Match and made Nepal pay dearly for sending USA in to bat after winning the toss on a pristine batting surface.

“When Steve [Massiah] came back and told us we were batting first I assumed we had won the toss,” USA vice-captain Sushil Nadkarni said after the game. “But he told us that Nepal had put us in and I was a little surprised to hear that. We were looking to bat first anyways. The only reason I can think of is maybe the ground as we know is a little small and you never know what total might be enough here.”

“Because the size of the ground, it’s a 50 yard ground, you just didn’t know what total was good enough on this ground,” Nepal captain Paras Khadka said. “So looking at the size of the ground, that made us field first because 50 yard boundaries you really didn’t know what would be a good score so that’s the reason why we fielded first.”

Before play began, the USA squad met with the US Consul General to Bermuda, Robert Settje, and his wife who were attending their very first cricket match. The two teams then held a minute of silence before taking the field at the request of the USA national team for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. USA also wore black pins on their shirt sleeves in remembrance of the victims.

Orlando Baker opened the batting with Taylor and the pair established a new record stand for any wicket for USA against Nepal with a 125-run partnership across 17.2 overs. The previous best was an 89-run fourth wicket stand between Sushil Nadkarni and Steve Massiah last September at ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia. Baker did an excellent job of blunting the new ball, hitting only three scoring shots in the first 24 deliveries he faced as he and Taylor coasted to 28 after seven overs. It was in the eighth over that USA exploded for 18 runs and from then on rarely took their foot off the gas pedal. Taylor started off the frame against Sanjam Regmi with a six over extra cover followed by a three that included a pair of overthrows. Baker then struck back-to-back fours as USA’s bench came alive sensing they were gaining momentum.

Image (above) - Steven Taylor completes a square drive during his knock of 162 against Nepal at Somerset CC in Bermuda. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Taylor brought up his 50 in just 32 balls with his fourth six, struck straight down the ground off Sanjam Regmi, who went for 53 in his first five overs. The pair brought up USA’s 100 in the 16th over when Taylor cut Basant Regmi through point and then immediately followed the milestone with a six over cover. Baker got out eight balls after the first drinks break when he tried to flick Basant across the line and was bowled for 37.

Massiah joined Taylor and the USA captain was at the crease when Taylor brought up triple figures in the 23rd over off just 61 balls with his seventh four through the covers to go along with eight sixes at that stage. The pair added 31 for the second wicket before Massiah was run out for 11. The USA captain cut a ball to Amrit Bhattarai at point off Basant Regmi that was misfielded and Taylor attempted a run. Bhattarai recovered and threw to Basant, who initially dislodged the bails at the non-striker’s end without the ball in his hand. With both batsmen at the striker’s end, Massiah chose to sacrifice himself ahead of Basant pulling a stump out of the ground with the ball pressed against it to complete the run out.

Nadkarni and Taylor got things moving quickly again and after 30 overs, the score was 211 for 2 as USA sensed a chance to potentially break their all-time best score in limited overs cricket set against East & Central Africa at the 1990 ICC Trophy with a score of 404 for 9. Nadkarni’s USA record of 197 was also in danger of going down as Taylor brought up his 150 with his 10th boundary to end the 32nd. He was finally dismissed two balls into the 35th over by Sanjam Regmi, caught at point by Basant to make it 234 for 3.

Image (right) - Steven Taylor raises his bat after reached his century off 61 balls. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

USA went through an extended sputter for the next six overs as three more wickets fell to give Nepal some hope that they might restrict USA to under 300. Rashard Marshall fell for 5, caught behind off Basant to make it 243 for 4. Barrington Bartley was bowled slogging across the line for 13 to make it 270 for 5 in the 40th. Nadkarni fell three balls later at the start of the 41st, given LBW for 28 to a ball that kept low from Bhattarai to make it 273 for 6.

Nepal couldn’t sustain the pressure though as Timroy Allen and Neil McGarrell produced a 93-run unbroken seventh wicket stand to erase all doubts about whether or not Nepal would have a chance in the second innings. Allen was particularly brutal to the Nepal attack, finishing with 67 not out off 34 balls. The pair scored 19 in the 45th over and then Allen capped off the innings by taking 21 off Bhattarai in the 50th including pairs of fours and sixes.

Basant Regmi was the only bowler to come away from the innings with his reputation still intact, taking 2 for 46 in 10. Shakti Gauchan took the brunt of USA’s batting assault as the usually economical left-arm spinner went for nine per over, finishing with 1 for 81 in nine.

“We still thought that anything like 300 to 320 or 330 was chaseable,” Khadka said. “Maybe we gave 40-50 runs extra. We believed that if it was 320-330, we believed that we would have chased that down. Unfortunately, even in the end we didn’t bowl well in the last five overs so that took the game away and Taylor played exceptionally well. When a guy gets 162 in a 50-over game you can’t do many things.”

In the field, it was Elmore Hutchinson who took the new ball and put pressure immediately onto Nepal’s batsmen, beginning with a wicket maiden in the second over that claimed Anil Mandal for a duck. In the eighth over, he bounced out Khakurel for 23 as a top edged hook came down into Taylor’s hands to make it 29 for 2.

Nepal’s best chance at coming close to chasing down the target was a lengthy partnership between Gyanendra Malla and Khadka. However, Malla was run out for 9 to start the 13th over when Khadka failed to respond to a call for a run to short fine leg. Hutchinson fielded and threw to Baker over the non-striker’s stumps before Malla could get back as Nepal slipped to 56 for 3.

Khadka did his best to make amends by top scoring with 73 off 64 balls but the first innings hole was too big to dig his side out of. Binod Bhandari was the next man out for 4, bowled by McGarrell trying to play a Dilscoop. Pradeep Airee was dropped two balls later on zero by Taylor behind the stumps, but McGarrell was still able to claim him for 14, trapped LBW to make it 106 for 5 in the 24th.

Bartley’s five-over spell was an expensive one, claiming 47 runs, but he notched the prize wicket of Khadka, caught behind trying to cut a ball that had a little extra bounce to make it 175 for 6 in the 32nd. Muhammad Ghous was finally rewarded with his first wicket in the 37th. Ghous dismissed Basant Regmi, caught at midwicket by Massiah for 7, before he removed Vesawkar for 72 to make it 228 for 8.

A small consolation for Nepal was a 44-run ninth wicket stand between Gauchan and Sanjam Regmi which may become important later in the week should Nepal finish tied with any other team for one of the top two spots as net run rate will be the tiebreaker. The stand was finally broken when Sanjam was runout four balls into the final over for 14. Gauchan fell one ball later for 39 thanks to a diving catch by Baker off McGarrell as Nepal was bowled out for 272.

Ghous bowled a superb spell, conceding 19 runs in his final eight overs to finish with 2 for 36 in 10. Hutchinson eventually finished with 2 for 25 after his first five-over spell went for just 10 runs while McGarrell had USA’s best haul on the day with 3 for 42 in 9.5 overs.

In the day’s other matches, Oman bowled out Italy for 110 in 38.2 overs before chasing the total with 20.5 overs to spare for the loss of three wickets at St. David’s CC. Left-arm orthodox spinner Aamir Kaleem was named Man of the Match after taking 4 for 15 in his eight-over spell to wipe out Italy’s middle order. Uganda beat the host side Bermuda by 114 runs at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Opener Arthur Kyobe was named Man of the Match for Uganda after top scoring with 53 in Uganda’s total of 222 for 7. Teenage left-arm spinner Henry Ssenyondo claimed 4 for 24 to lead the Uganda bowling unit as Bermuda collapsed from 72 for 3 in 26 overs to be all out for 108 in 43.3 overs.

On Monday, USA plays Italy at the National Stadium in Hamilton. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. local time, 9:30 a.m. on the east coast in the USA. DreamCricket.com will have live updates sponsored by New Inning Foundation beginning at 10 a.m. local time.

USA Cricket: Former USA vice-captain Aditya Mishra retires from international cricket at age 31

openingbat — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:54:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Batsman Aditya Mishra, who served as USA’s vice-captain at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, has decided to retire from international cricket despite being just 31.

“Want to thank everyone who has helped me in my cricket journey,” Mishra told DreamCricket.com on Sunday night. “Have played cricket with passion and on my terms, wanted to leave with the same spirit. When I realized that I am not needed, I figured there are other things that need my immediate attention.”

Image (right) - Aditya Mishra drives down the ground during his match-winning 62 against Scotland at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

In an email obtained by DreamCricket.com, Mishra informed USA coaches Robin Singh and Thiru Kumaran as well as chairman of selectors Selwyn Caesar and USACA CEO Darren Beazley on Sunday afternoon that other commitments now held a higher priority for him.

“It appears that I am not part of USACA plans for the future. I respect you both as cricketers and coaches. Your high expectations from me is probably a result of my first class cricket experience in India and some good past performances for USA in last year’s World Cup qualifiers in Dubai. Due to work related commitments, it would be impossible for me to meet those expectations without proper motivation.”

His email to USACA also highlighted frustrations with the process involved in selecting teams. Mishra makes note of the fact that he was USA’s vice-captain in the UAE last year at a major ICC tournament and served as stand-in captain on a day when Sushil Nadkarni sat out against Scotland. Mishra scored 62 in that match to top score for USA in their seven-wicket win over Scotland, making USA one of only two teams to beat an ODI nation during the group stage of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. That innings earned Mishra recognition from DreamCricket.com at the end of the year as the 2012 New Inning Foundation Individual Performance of the Year. However, he was surprisingly left out of USA’s Twenty20 squad for the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament last month in Florida.

“I tried to motivate myself after being dropped from the probables list for Americas T20 even though I was the USA vice captain in Dubai and had some very good performances and partnerships,” Mishra wrote. “No one reached out to tell me what led to such a sudden change in mind and what specifically I need to improve.”

“I took it as a challenge and focused on performances. Like to thank Robin to advise and guide me when it was a low point for me. My stats in the NCCA league tell a story of a player who wants to come back and play freely. I am still young and confident of performing at the highest level. However, due to lack of Domestic tournaments and sometimes transparency it is tough to keep up the motivation and work hard when you have limited time to spend between cricket, family, and other social commitments.”

Mishra made his USA debut in 2010 opening the batting with Carl Wright against Jamaica in a Twenty20 match at The Pearls Cup in Florida. He then came back into the USA team at the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament following a solid showing at the 2011 USACA Twenty20 National Tournament in New Jersey where he was the second highest scorer in the tournament including a best of 87 in 49 balls against a vaunted New York Region team while playing for the Atlantic Region.

Image (left) - Aditya Mishra tees off for one of his four sixes against New York at the 2011 USACA Twenty20 National tournament as wicketkeeper Akeem Dodson looks on behind him. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

At the 2011 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Florida, Mishra finished third on the team with 98 runs in four innings at an average of 32.66 as USA finished second behind Canada. He was then named vice-captain for the team that went to the UAE for the World Twenty20 Qualifier the following March and stated in an interview before the tournament that he wanted to cultivate a more welcoming culture with newer and younger players after his bumpy initiation into the team in 2010.

Mishra was the only player besides Sushil Nadkarni to score a half-century for USA in the event. In addition to his match-winning knock against Scotland, Mishra scored 53 off 34 balls in a hard fought 17-run defeat to Namibia, who went undefeated in the group stage and finished third overall in the tournament behind Ireland and Afghanistan. He finished third on the team in runs at the event with 169, behind only Nadkarni and Steven Taylor.

He struggled at 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in Malaysia, scoring 74 runs in five games but was surprisingly dropped from USA’s Twenty20 squad seemingly as a result of his 50-over performances. It is unknown whether Mishra will continue to play locally in the Northern California Cricket Association. Away from cricket, he is a consultant working as Manager of Advisory Services at Ernst & Young.

USA Cricket: Taylor's 127 not out caps record-breaking week, USA goes 8-0 at 2013 ICC Americas T20

openingbat — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:57:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

Records continued to tumble on Sunday as Steven Taylor’s 127 not out spearheaded a 77-run win over Cayman Islands to wrap up an undefeated week for USA at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. USA finished 8-0 with the win while Cayman Islands dropped to 1-7 with the loss and as a result they have been relegated to ICC Americas Division Two.

Image (above) - USA finishes number one at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

“We really worked hard since we arrived in Florida and the effort that we come here and put out to go 8-0, it’s a big achievement for USACA,” said USA captain Orlando Baker.

Taylor’s second century in as many matches reset his own USA T20 record and took him to 413 runs overall on the week to put him atop the run charts for the tournament.

“It was a dream come true and I’m happy for my accomplishment,” Taylor said. “I had one goal, my main goal was to become the highest run getter…. It’s a big boost for me because we qualified to the UAE and I’d like to do good in the UAE.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat first with no changes made to the side that beat Bermuda on Friday as Elmore Hutchinson and Saqib Saleem nursed injuries while Timothy Surujbally sat out. Taylor and Akeem Dodson opened and set a USA record for the country’s largest partnership in T20 cricket. The pair added 155 in 15.1 overs, breaking the mark for highest first-wicket partnership previously held by Taylor and Aditya Mishra with 78 vs. Scotland at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Dubai and the highest partnership overall which was held by Aditya Thyagarajan and Baker with 99 not out in a seventh-wicket stand vs. Ireland at the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

Unlike his innings in the first match against Cayman Islands when he scored 95, Taylor’s time at the crease on Sunday was a charmed one with two straightforward chances being put down. The first came when he was on 21 in the fifth over with the score 41 for 0. Taylor top edged a sweep against offspinner Kevin Bazil that went straight to Alessandro Morris at fine leg. Morris misjudged it initially and then reached up over his head while backpedalling before spilling the chance.

Taylor treated Cayman Islands medium pacer Troy Taylor with particular disdain, torching him for a six and three boundaries in the 10th over as he brought up his 50 off just 30 balls in the process. On the first ball of the 11th over, Dodson scooped Ramon Sealy over fine leg for a boundary to break Baker and Thyagarajan’s partnership record.

The partnership finally ended when Dodson missed a slog to midwicket against Kervin Ebanks and was bowled for 46. Baker came out to the middle and for the second match in a row was present when Taylor brought up three digits. Bermuda had another chance to deny him of three figures though just five balls after Dodson got out when Taylor sliced a full toss straight to point but the fielder grassed the chance at chest height.

Instead, Taylor reached his century three balls into the 17th over with a single to the leg side. He scored his second 50 in just 21 balls. Cayman Islands still had three more overs to feel Taylor’s wrath though. The teenager added another three fours and a six in the final two overs before he carried his bat off the field with 14 fours and six sixes at the end of his 62-ball knock. The total of 198 for 1 was a record score for USA in T20 cricket, eclipsing the 193 for 5 USA made against Bermuda in Sharjah at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.

Image (above) - Man of the Match Steven Taylor after breaking his own USA record T20 score with 127 not out vs. Cayman Islands. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna]

“There’s so many things that happened. There’s so many records that has break in this tournament, with the batters and partnerships.” Baker said. “But from a personal point of view, I’m very happy to lead this team, a young team. I get the respect from each and every player, from the managers right down to the guys. When I came here to Florida, I said I’m here on a mission as a captain and a senior player and the mission is complete.”

Cayman Islands never had a chance to chase the total despite a 60-run opening stand between Sealy and Zachary McLaughlin. Sealy was dismissed for 27 by Danial Ahmed in the 10th over and from there wickets fell regularly. McLaughlin was the first of three wickets taken by Ryan Corns, caught by Taylor at long on for a top score of 35. Corns had Ronald Ebanks stumped for 12 before Abhimanyu Rajp got into the act, removing Conroy Wright for 8 through the assistance of a brilliant catch on the boundary by Naseer Jamali to make it 100 for 4 in the 17th.

Corns capped off career best figures of 3 for 12 with the wicket of Kervin Ebanks, caught at deep midwicket by Japen Patel for 12 to make it 106 for 5 in the 18th. The last wicket to fall for Cayman Islands was that of Troy Taylor, stumped by Dodson for 1 in the 19th over, before Cayman Islands finished on 121 for 6.

In the day’s other match, Suriname stunned Bermuda by five wickets to take their record to 4-4 while Bermuda finished the tournament at 5-3 but still finished in second place to join USA as the two teams advancing from this tournament to the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE this November. Tre Manders and David Hemp both made 51 in Bermuda’s total of 144 for 4, but Suriname chased it down with two balls to spare aided by some shoddy fielding from Bermuda. Sauid Drepaul led Suriname with 42.

USA has an off day on Monday before a three-match 50-over series against Bermuda begins at Brian Piccolo Park beginning at 10 a.m. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage sponsored by New Inning Foundation for all three matches.

USA Cricket: Taylor creates history with USA's first T20 100, hosts move to 7-0 at 2013 ICC Americas T20

openingbat — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 07:31:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Cooper City, Florida (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard vs. Bermuda I Scorecard vs. Bahamas I Match Commentary

USA batsman Steven Taylor became the first USA player to score a Twenty20 century on Friday afternoon at Brian Piccolo Park, notching 101 off 62 balls to lead USA to victory over Bermuda by 48 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. USA’s win was their seventh in seven matches this week and clinched both the tournament title for them as well as a spot in the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier this November in the UAE.

Image (above) - Steven Taylor watches the ball sail over the rope for his sixth six to bring up USA's first T20 century. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

“We just came out with a positive approach,” Baker said. “We knew it was Bermuda and it’s our last big chance at them. We wanted to crush them. We didn’t want to just win, but win big. We went out and give it our best and we come out today with a big win again.”

In the process of reaching his ton, Taylor broke his own USA record score in T20 cricket which was 95 against Cayman Islands on the first day of this tournament. Taylor is now the leading scorer in the event with 286 runs, well ahead of Bahamas’ Marc Taylor who has 228.

“It felt good because I was very disappointed in myself not getting the first hundred,” Taylor said. “I ought to have two. I was glad to get my first hundred.”

USA won the toss and elected to bat first against Bermuda as Timothy Surujbally and Saqib Saleem sat out while Elmore Hutchinson nursed a groin strain sustained in morning warm-ups. The match began after an 11-minute rain delay before Taylor and Akeem Dodson opened for USA on a placid wicket. Play was halted briefly in the second over with USA on 21/0 for an 18-minute rain break before the match resumed.

Keeping their focus in the face of the spitting rain, Taylor and Dodson produced USA’s best first wicket partnership of the tournament, 68 runs in just 5.5 overs. Dodson finished with 23 off 15 balls before he was out caught on the cover boundary off the bowling of Janeiro Tucker. Taylor added 46 with Nicholas Standford and brought up his 50 in 34 balls during their stand. Standford scored 18 and was dismissed leg before missing a sweep against Jacobi Robinson. Barrington Bartley lasted just three balls, bowled for 4 by Malachi Jones in the 14th.

Image (right) - Taylor's innings started with rain drops falling around him as he took on Bermuda's bowling unit. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Taylor was joined by Baker and the pair generated USA’s second half-century stand of the match, 50 runs for the fourth wicket to tie a fourth-wicket record partnership for USA in T20 cricket held by Baker and Aditya Mishra against Namibia in 2012. Baker worked at giving Taylor the strike and with four overs left, Taylor was 25 away from the magic three figures.

Taylor had the strike for all but one delivery of the 17th but could only manage a three off the first ball before dots piled up in the rest of the over. His frustration was evident as he attempted an unsuccessful reverse sweep on the final ball in an effort to get unstuck. However, a full toss from Maybury three balls into the 18th disappeared over midwicket and got the wheels turning again for Taylor. After a two and a three on the next two balls, he entered the 19th over on 89.

In USA’s first match of the tournament, Taylor was caught on the boundary for 95 against Cayman Islands as he tried to bring up a century with a six. This time he was the beneficiary of some good fortune when a chance at long off on 89 was spilled by the sub fielder Sam Robinson over the boundary line for a six to take Taylor to 95. Later in the over, he went for the glory shot and this time succeeded, striking his sixth six wide of long on to bring up triple figures in just 61 balls.

Taylor was finally dismissed on his next delivery, bowled by Jones to start the 20th, but not before he took USA to an easily defendable position of 184 for 4. Tucker was the only bowler who avoided Taylor’s wrath, finishing with 1 for 19 in four overs. Every other Bermuda bowler went for at least nine runs per over.

Image (left) - Taylor punches through the off side after the sun came out. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

The pitch stayed in good shape for the start of Bermuda’s chase. After a blip at the start of their innings with the loss of Lionel Cann for 10, Bermuda was ahead of the asking rate after four overs at 39 for 1. USA’s spinners worked to rein Bermuda back in. Ryan Corns got the momentum shifting back USA’s way with the first of his three wickets, David Hemp caught at deep midwicket for 2 to make it 40 for 2. Bartley foxed Dion Stovell to have the opener out stumped by Dodson for 26 to make it 52 for 3 after 6. Bermuda captain Stephen Outerbridge was caught at midwicket for 4 to give Corns his second. Corns then delivered the knockout blow, inducing a skied chance from Tucker to Japen Patel at long on and Bermuda’s top scorer was out for 27 to make it 79 for 5 in the 11th.

Abhimanyu Rajp took three wickets in five balls to accelerate the Bermuda tailspin. First to go in the sequence was Jones for 14, caught at deep midwicket by Jamali on the fourth ball of the 12th. Rajp opened the 14th over with wickets on back-to-back deliveries. Tre Manders top edged a pull to Corns at point before Rodney Trott slogged to Patel at long off on his first ball to make it 98 for 8. Rain returned in the middle of the 17th over and the umpires took the players off for the final time at the end of the frame. The match was unable to get restarted by the 6:30 p.m. cutoff time and with the par D/L score 161, USA was declared the winners by 48 runs.

“I’m very happy for all the guys,” USA captain Orlando Baker said. “We came here on a mission and we came through and supported each other from the day we arrived in Florida. As you can see, we’re 7-0 and we’re looking forward to the next game to go 8-0.”

Image (above) - Steven Taylor finishes a lofted straight drive to come within one shot of his century. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Earlier in the day, USA brushed aside Bahamas with a 72-run win at the Central Broward Regional Park. USA won the toss and batted first, posting 187 for 4, their highest total of the week and second highest T20 score all-time for USA. Several players got starts but no one capitalized on them as Patel and Baker were co-top scorers with 32. The pair featured in USA’s highest partnership of the innings, 65 for the third wicket to set up USA’s big total.

Bahamas made a confident start to their chase as Marc Taylor and Julio Jemison constructed the largest partnership by any of USA’s opponents this tournament, 62 runs for the first wicket in 8.3 overs. Bartley was the one to make the breakthrough for USA, getting Taylor to send Jamali a catch at long off for 30. Ryan Tappin was dismissed for a duck by Danial Ahmed six balls later and from there the Bahamas innings became unglued.

Jemison eventually finished 52 not out but the only other player besides the openers to cross double digits was Rudolph Fox at number eight with 13. Steven Taylor set the tone for his charmed day by recording a double-wicket maiden in the 20th over, his first over bowled of the tournament, as Bahamas finished on 115 for 8. Bartley was named Man of the Match after following his 25 not out with 2 for 21.

In the day’s other matches, Bermuda defeated Cayman Islands in the morning match at Brian Piccolo Park by four wickets. Suriname stumbled in the afternoon game at Central Broward Regional Park against Bahamas, who rebounded from the loss to USA by notching a six-wicket win.

Bermuda sits in second place at 4-2 after six games and can clinch the second available spot from the Americas for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier with a win over Bahamas on Saturday morning. Suriname is still mathematically alive for second place at 2-4 but needs Bermuda to lose to the Bahamas on Saturday combined with Suriname wins over Cayman Islands on Saturday and Bermuda on Sunday. In addition to that, Suriname would also need to close the net run rate gap with Bermuda. Cayman Islands sit in last place at 1-5. Should they lose both their remaining games against Suriname and USA, they will be relegated to ICC Americas Division Two.

USA has Saturday off before their final game against Cayman Islands on Sunday. DreamCricket.com will have live coverage of the match, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.

“We’re here on a mission,” Baker said. “We’re 7-0 and we still got one more to go. Definitely we’re looking to go 8-0. We’re not easing up on no one. We’re not taking any team for granted.”

USA Cricket: Bermuda held to 133, USA wins sloppy match by 3 wickets at 2013 ICC Americas T20

openingbat — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:00:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via @dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill, Florida (on Twitter)

DreamCricket.com's coverage on site from Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament is sponsored by New Inning Foundation.

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation I Match Commentary

USA fought back after a solid start by Bermuda to restrict the visitors to 133 for 8 before chasing down the runs with 11 balls to spare as USA won a mistake-riddled game by 3 wickets on Wednesday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida at the 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament. Malachi Jones of Bermuda was named Man of the Match for his spell of 3 for 22 as well as a catch and a runout in the field. USA remains undefeated at 4-0 after the win while Bermuda drops to 3-1 after the loss.

Bermuda, who defeated Cayman Islands by 46 runs earlier in the day after batting first and making 169 for 3 at the CBRP, won the toss against USA and elected to take first strike again. USA made two changes from their lineup against Bahamas as Danial Ahmed and Timothy Surujbally returned in place of Naseer Jamali and Saqib Saleem. Karan Ganesh remained out of the lineup with an injured right knee.

Bermuda produced 24 runs in the first 20 balls before captain Stephen Outerbridge was beaten in flight by a quicker ball and stumped off the bowling of Ahmed for 6. The visitors advanced to 53 when opener Curt Stovell was dismissed on the final ball of the eighth over for 35, bowled by USA captain Orlando Baker after swinging across the line one too many times.

Image (above) - USA captain Orlando Baker celebrates with a fist pump after removing Bermuda opener Curt Stovell for 35. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Despite the departure of both openers, Bermuda remained in a solid position after 11 overs with the score on 76 for 2. Luck appeared to be on Bermuda’s side after heavy hitting Janeiro Tucker was dropped on back-to-back balls in the 12th over bowled by Abhimanyu Rajp.

However, the scales tipped back in USA’s favor when Ryan Corns struck on back-to-back balls in the 13th. David Hemp fell on the second ball of the frame for 26, caught on the boundary at long on by Japen Patel to make it 81 for 3. Bermuda made a critical error when Hemp and Tucker failed to cross while the ball was in the air so instead of Tucker facing the following delivery, the new batsman Lionel Cann had to start on strike. Cann swung over the top of a full toss from Corns and overbalanced after missing to allow Akeem Dodson the opportunity to complete his second stumping of the innings.

"I thought they got off to a flyer," USA batsman Nicholas Standford said. "We did well in the middle overs from 10 to 15 to bring back the score and I thought we did a good job."

The rest of the innings moved along in fits and starts, but without much momentum for Bermuda. Rodney Trott made 6 before he fell in the 17th, bowled by Ahmed to make it 103 for 5. Jones was dismissed for the same score in the 18th over courtesy of a juggling effort on the cover boundary by Barrington Bartley to give Elmore Hutchinson a wicket.

Tucker finished with a top score of 36, including 28 runs after the first chance he offered, before he was removed with seven balls to go in the innings thanks to an outstanding catch by Corns running in from the long on boundary to give Ahmed his third scalp. Jekon Edness was run out coming back for a second run on the final ball of the innings as Bermuda finished on 133 for 8. Ahmed bowled with the new ball before coming back in the death overs and finished with 3 for 26 to lead the USA bowling attack.

"I think I did okay," Ahmed said. "My performance was not at the level I thought it should be at. I bowled a few bad balls and I got hit but I kept bowling within the stumps and I think that helped me to get a few wickets."

USA got off to a rapid start in their chase thanks to 21 off 13 balls from Surujbally. He collected two boundaries off the first over bowled by Jones, then two more against Trott opening from the opposite end. Unfortunately his innings came to a quick end after he walked across his stumps and was struck dead in front playing across the line to give Jones his first wicket. Jones made it 27 for 2 when he castled Akeem Dodson on the next delivery to end the third over.

Meanwhile Steven Taylor was being denied the strike by Bermuda and as a result USA’s scoring rate was kept in check. In the first five overs, Taylor only faced seven legal deliveries and the frustration of not getting enough strike finally got the best of him when he was dismissed for 14 off just 14 balls at the start of the eighth over, caught on the long off boundary off Trott’s offspin. Baker perished three balls later for 12, runout after responding to Standford’s call for a sharp run.

Standford managed to make amends though in partnership with Corns. With dark clouds hovering overhead and the possibility of Duckworth-Lewis becoming a factor if rain intervened, the pair kept their cool to establish a new fifth-wicket record stand for USA in T20 cricket, adding 46 runs across 7.2 overs. The previous best fifth-wicket partnership for USA in T20 cricket was a 39-run partnership between Quasen Alfred and Charan Singh against Afghanistan in Toronto in 2011.

"When Ryan came to the crease we were on even keel with the D/L par score," Standford said. "So we just wanted to keep ahead of that as the rain was about to come down."

Just when it appeared the pair had settled for good and would take USA over the line, Corns fell on the final ball of the 15th over for 19 when he holed out to Jones at long on off the bowling of seamer Greg Maybury to make it 98 for 5. With USA needing 36 off the remaining 30 balls for victory, Standford kept the pressure on Bermuda’s bowlers with a four and a six off consecutive deliveries from spin bowler Samuel Robinson to end the 16th. He ultimately fell three balls into the 17th for USA’s top score of 36, bowled by a Jones yorker to make it 118 for 6.

Patel produced a very efficient innings at number seven, first in tandem with Standford and then with Bartley to get USA closer to a win. Patel scored off his first 10 deliveries and finished with 18 in 12 balls before he gave Robinson a return catch on the last ball of the 18th with USA one shot away from winning. The host side scored the winning runs on the very next ball when Bartley struck a delivery that was misfielded by Maybury on the boundary at long on to give USA a match-winning four.

Suriname swept a pair of matches at Brian Piccolo Park on Wednesday, defeating Bahamas by 20 runs in a low scoring match before following it up with a narrow win over Cayman Islands by 7 runs on Duckworth-Lewis. Suriname made 121 for 9 and restricted Bahamas to 101 for 8 in the morning match to secure their first win of the tournament. In the afternoon, Suriname batted first again and made 120 for 8. Cayman Islands advanced to 96 for 4 after 17 overs when bad weather curtailed play with Cayman Islands marginally behind the D/L par score. The results mean that after the first round of double-round robin play, USA sits in first place at 4-0, Bermuda in second at 3-1, Suriname in third at 2-2, Cayman Islands in fourth at 1-3 and Bahamas in last place at 0-4.

USA returns to the Central Broward Regional Park on Thursday afternoon when they take on Suriname at 3 p.m. EST DreamCricket.com’s live tournament coverage, sponsored by New Inning Foundation, will get underway at 2:30 p.m. EST.

USA Cricket: Team and player reviews for The 2012 Auty Cup

openingbat — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:03:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via@dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Batting: USA’s batsmen got off to plenty of decent starts, but hardly any of those starts were converted into a meaningful score. USA had one half-century by Timil Patel in the final Twenty20 match. In comparison, Canada’s batsmen contributed five half-centuries over the four games: two by Raza-ur-Rehman, and one each by Usman Limbada, Hiral Patel and Rizwan Cheema.

In the two-day match, three players made it to 20 – Timothy Surujbally, Karan Ganesh and Ryan Corns – but none of them made it to 30. The pattern was repeated in the 50-over game by Surujbally, Patel, Neil McGarrell and Barrington Bartley, then again in the first Twenty20 by Surujbally and Nicholas Standford. Canada’s players were more determined to make their starts count while USA’s players wasted theirs far too often.

In the 50-over match, USA racked up a stunning number of dot balls, 216 to be exact, almost 70% of the total deliveries in the innings. In the 35 non-power play overs, USA scored just 41 singles which highlights their struggle to find gaps in the circle and turn over the strike to keep pressure from building up. More evidence came in the first Twenty20 match where USA had 61 dot balls, a shocking number for a Twenty20 match especially since USA only batted 19 overs.

USA’s biggest challenge was against Canada’s spin bowlers, particularly leg-spinner Junaid Siddiqui and the left-arm spin of Rehman. Canada’s bowling attack was good but not nearly as good as some of the ones they’ve used in World Cups over the last decade.

Bowling: Against most of Canada’s first choice batsmen, USA’s bowlers turned in an admirable showing, especially in the two-day match. To bowl out a Division One Associate team for under 200 runs in a multi-day match was impressive and they nearly did it twice but ran out of time. Naseer Jamali’s opening spell which claimed three wickets set the tone for USA’s bowlers throughout that match.

The USA bowling was a bit flat in the 50-over match although if they had another 30 to 40 runs to play with they might have had more of a spring in their step. With the exception of Cheema’s first over assault of Adrian Gordon in the first Twenty20, USA’s bowlers were collectively committed in not letting Canada’s batsmen score too freely in those games as well.

USA’s greatest success came through their spin bowlers. Danial Ahmed and Timil Patel led the way while Karan Ganesh provided good support with the ball in the limited overs matches. Barrington Bartley showed a brief glimpse of what he can do in a supporting role with the ball as did Japen Patel with his medium pace, but neither should be seen as a frontline option.

Player Reviews

William Perkins – Scored 15 off 25 balls in the two-day match, 46 off 73 in the 50-over game, and made 32 off 21 in the second T20. He looked solid at the crease, but not dominant. For someone with plenty of recent experience playing domestic cricket in the West Indies, as well as participating in the Champions League T20 with Trinidad & Tobago, more was expected. He certainly didn’t do enough to displace Sushil Nadkarni and Steven Taylor as USA’s incumbent openers, but might be worth consideration in a 14-man squad, if eligible, for some of USA’s upcoming tournaments.

Steven Taylor – Scored 4 off 15 balls in the two-day match, retired hurt on 10 in the 50-over match after pulling a hamstring trying to complete a quick single. Taylor has always carried slightly more weight than he should. The hamstring pull may give him the nudge he needs to focus more of his attention on improving his fitness. He has gotten away with it at most stages because of his supreme natural talent, but the higher the level of competition, the greater risk he runs of his fitness being exposed.

Timothy Surujbally – Scored 24 off 55 balls in the two-day game, 28 off 54 in the 50-over match, made 27 off 10 before retiring hurt in the first T20 with a hamstring pull trying to complete a quick single; with the ball took 0 for 6 in three overs during the two-day game. His performance was a microcosm of so many batsmen during the week who teased, but probably fell short of satisfying the expectations of themselves as well as the selectors with their batting. If there’s one thing that would hold him back more than anything else from making it into a 14-man squad next year, it would be his inability to score off the ball turning away from him. Canada’s Siddiqui and Rehman put the clamps on him and Surujbally didn’t seem to have a plan for how to get off strike.

Image (right) - Timothy Surujbally

Andy Mohammed – Scored 0 off 7 balls in the two-day match, made 11 off 12 opening the batting in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 6 in one over in the two-day game. Two loose dismissals demonstrated that he still has a lot of maturing to do. Despite his talent, he doesn’t ever look determined to stay at the crease for very long. He needs to go back to the drawing board to develop his game.

Karan Ganesh – Top scored for USA in the two-day match with 29 off 70 balls, made 1 off 4 in the 50-over match and 2 not out off 3 balls in the second T20; with the ball took 0 for 14 in eight overs during the two-day match, 2 for 24 in eight overs in the 50-over match, 1 for 20 in four overs in the second T20. Ganesh should have stayed at the crease longer in the two-day game but only has himself to blame for runout that curtailed his innings. With the ball, his flat off-spin was efficient at restricting runs, particularly in the limited overs matches. He wouldn’t get into a full-strength USA squad solely on his batting or bowling alone, but makes an intriguing case as a reserve player for his combined skillset.

Timil Patel – Scored 11 off 15 balls in the two-day match, 22 off 39 in the 50-over game, 0 off 2 in the first T20 and 67 not out off 55 balls in the second T20; with the ball took match figures of 7 for 107 in 34 overs during the two-day game, 2 for 49 in 8.5 overs in the 50-over game, 1 for 24 in three overs in the first T20, 1 for 28 in four overs in the second T20. Had the best all-round performance of any USA player during the week. It’s unclear if he’ll be eligible to play in ICC tournaments next year though because he’s only been in the USA since 2010.

Japen Patel – Scored 0 off 9 balls in the two-day game, 9 off 17 in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 34 in seven overs during the two-day game, took 4 for 26 in four overs during the first T20. Inserted into a new ball role in the two-day game that he was ill-suited for, he bowled tidily enough and had a chance dropped off his bowling early, but overall lacked penetration. In the T20 he played, he kept a disciplined line and as a result took more wickets than some of his teammates who bowled quicker but with far less control. Such performances with the ball need to be the rule, not the exception, for him to have any chance of cracking USA’s XI. He still has a long way to go with the bat as well to be up to international standard.

Image (left) - Japen Patel

Adil Bhatti – Scored 7 off 35 balls in the two-day game, 7 off 13 in the first T20, 0 off 1 ball in the second T20; with the ball he took 1 for 20 in five overs during the two-day game, 0 for 24 in three overs in the first T20. Bhatti is a player with similar skill sets to Japen Patel and is probably a better player but was outperformed by Japen during the series by way of Patel’s 4 for 26 in the first T20. Bhatti’s best moment came when he pulled off a fantastic catch as a substitute fielder in the 50-over match, but that’s not going to get him selected. He’s a player who gives tremendous effort but needs to work hard on his batting in particular, much like Japen, to merit full-time selection.

Ryan Corns – Scored 20 off 39 balls in the two-day game, 5 off 7 in the first T20, 5 off 5 in the second T20; with the ball took 1 for 46 in 14 overs during the two-day game, 1 for 22 in four overs during the first T20, 1 for 21 in three overs during the second T20. His spin bowling is always improving, but his batting still hasn’t progressed to the point where it should be. He got a few opportunities to bat higher up the order in this series than he had in previous tournaments USA played in 2012, but didn’t make the most of those chances. The fact that he was selected as a stand-in captain in place of the injured Taylor for the second T20 says a lot about how highly he is now thought of by USA’s management hierarchy, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a nervous wait this winter to see if his spot is secure the next time USA picks a 14-man squad.

Danial Ahmed – Scored 1 not out off 6 balls in the two-day match; with the ball took 6 for 73 across 37.4 overs in the two-day game, took 1 for 13 in three overs in the second T20. Ahmed was the biggest revelation for USA in the matches against Canada. Although he isn’t a very big turner of the ball, he displayed immaculate control and used clever variations of pace and flight to keep batsmen off balance. USA has tried out numerous specialist left-arm spinners over the past few years – Asif Khan, Samarth Shah, Bhim George – to match up with Nepal’s arsenal of them. Ahmed may be the end of that search. He also was brilliant in the field, another area where USA could definitely benefit from his presence.

Naseer Jamali – Scored 2 off 5 balls in the two-day game; with the ball took 3 for 42 in 12 overs during the two-day game, took 0 for 9 in one over in the second T20. His opening spell in the two-day game was very impressive as he wiped out Canada’s top three with relative ease. He doesn’t have blinding pace, but is showing signs of maturing by bowling a more disciplined line and recognizing that he won’t be able to bounce people out. Not a first-choice option now, but wouldn’t be a bad option should Usman Shuja, Elmore Hutchinson or Timroy Allen get injured.

Nicholas Standford – Scored 0 off 8 balls in the 50-over match, 23 off 26 in the first T20, 18 off 22 in the second T20. He played similar to Surujbally in the way he got some good starts, but ultimately failed to convert them. Looked fluent at the crease in both T20s but at the end of the day a number three batsman needs to do more after getting set like he did regardless of the format.

Neil McGarrell – Scored 26 off 46 balls in the 50-over match, scored 3 off 5 balls in the first T20; with the ball he took 0 for 28 in 10 overs in the 50-over match, took 1 for 14 in three overs in the first T20. Even though he’s 40, McGarrell maintains a very professional approach to the game at all levels. He demonstrated he still has value with the ball and as a fielder, but if there was room for just one specialist left-arm spinner in a USA squad and the choice was between the former West Indies Test bowler and 27-year-old Daniel Ahmed, then Ahmed should get selected. It’s not because Ahmed is younger, it’s because Ahmed showed he’s better.

Barrington Bartley – Scored 23 off 24 balls in the 50-over match, scored 26 off 14 balls in the second T20; with the ball took 0 for 44 in eight overs in the 50-over match, took 3 for 14 in three overs in the second T20. While Bartley had the same issue of carrying on after getting set like many of his teammates, he was actually one of the few efficient batsmen in the squad. It was rare to see him waste a delivery and he was much more skilled at turning over the strike than Ganesh, Surujbally or Standford in particular. He’s also a better fielder than the other three. With the ball, his 0 for 44 in the 50-over game is a more accurate reflection of his bowling abilities than his 3 for 14 in the second T20. If he were to get picked, it would be for his batting.

Saami Siddiqui – Scored 6 off 20 balls in the 50-over game, scored 7 off 8 balls in the first T20; completed no dismissals as a wicketkeeper, conceded 1 bye. Siddiqui kept adequately enough behind the stumps, but as is the case in the modern era of cricket he needs to offer more with the bat as a keeper.

Hammad Shahid – Scored 1 off 10 balls in the 50-over match; with the ball took 1 for 32 in eight overs during the 50-over match, took 0 for 10 in one over in the second T20. The 50-over game was a decent start to his career at the senior level but he didn’t get much of a chance to build on it in the T20 game he played. He hasn’t progressed as quickly as it looked like he would when he was a 16-year-old, but he has a strong frame and will hopefully get better with experience.

Mital Patel – Scored 2 off 9 balls in the 50-over match, made 0 off 4 balls in the first T20; with the ball took 0 for 19 in four overs in the 50-over match, took 0 for 11 in two overs during the first T20. Patel needs to be more disciplined and focused on the basics of finding a consistent line and length. His figures in the 50-over match included a maiden and on paper they look good, but part of the reason he didn’t get to bowl a second spell was because he was somewhat erratic, offering too much width too often. If he can bowl on the stumps on a regular basis, he’ll become a better prospect.

Adrian Gordon – Scored 14 not out off 10 balls in first T20; with the ball took 0 for 26 in one over in first T20, took 1 for 1 in 0.4 overs in second T20. Gordon has practically fallen off the cliff from where he was in his development after ICC WCL Division Four in August of 2010. He’s nowhere close to the bowler he was then. Despite generating good pace, his radar is all over the place. He’s still only 25 so he has time to sort himself out, but it would be good for it to happen sooner rather than later.

Image (right) - Adrian Gordon at ICC WCL Division Four in Italy in 2010. [Courtesy: ICC]

Outlook for 2013 ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 and ICC WCL Division Three

Much depends on the eligibility of certain players. Ahmed arrived in the USA in the spring of 2009 so his eligibility for these tournaments depends on how the ICC calculates the residency requirement for qualification, which stipulates that a player must reside in a country for a minimum of 183 days in the four years immediately preceding a tournament in order to play for that country. Only two such players can be picked in any starting XI, which may leave a captain limited if there are multiple such players in a 14-man squad. There is no limit on players who have been residents for a minimum of 183 days for seven years immediately preceding a tournament, or if they are a passport holder/citizen.

Timil Patel arrived in the USA in the summer of 2010, so may not be eligible to play for USA in ICC tournaments until 2014. Perkins last played for the West Indies in 2008, so his eligibility to play for the USA would depend on whether or not he fulfills the residency/citizenship requirements. All three players are definitely capable of slotting into a 14-man squad, but at the moment Timil Patel might be on the outside looking in due to ICC rules.

Probable USA first choice XI for ICC Americas Division One T20 in March:

1. Steven Taylor
2. Sushil Nadkarni
3. Steve Massiah
4. Aditya Thyagarajan
5. Aditya Mishra
6. Orlando Baker
7. Timroy Allen
8. Elmore Hutchinson
9. Usman Shuja
10. Danial Ahmed
11. Muhammad Ghous

As for the three reserves, much of it may depend on squad balance. Would USA opt for a pair of spinners and a batsman? A seamer and two batsmen but no pure spinner? To include or not to include a backup wicketkeeper? Several combinations could be construed. Ryan Corns and Abhimanyu Rajp stand a good chance of keeping their spots in USA’s squad for the time being, but both may be under pressure to hold on to them. If Perkins is eligible he would almost certainly take up the last spot, particularly because he can also keep wicket. Several other players are in contention to be included in a 14-man squad as well including Bartley, Bhatti, Ganesh, Surujbally, Rashard Marshall and Akeem Dodson.

[Views expressed in this article are those of the author. If you have differing views or opinions, we respect those views and urge you to provide your feedback - both positive and negative - in the comments section.]

USA Cricket: More spin troubles for USA as Rehman takes 5 for 27 in 4-wicket win for Canada

openingbat — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 02:20:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via@dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

Scorecard powered by the New Inning Foundation

An excellent start was wasted by USA after being sent in to bat as Raza-ur-Rehman wrecked the hosts lineup with an incisive spell of left-arm spin to take 5 for 27, propelling Canada to a victory by four wickets in a 50-over match on Friday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. USA appeared set to post a minimum of 250 after a platform laid by William Perkins and Timothy Surujbally, but the home side went from 94 for 0 to 194 all out before Canada chased the target with 19 balls to spare.

USA made six changes from the lineup that played the two-day Auty Cup match on Wednesday and Thursday. Danial Ahmed, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Naseer Jamali, Andy Mohammed and Japen Patel made way for Barrington Bartley, Neil McGarrell, Mital Patel, Hammad Shahid, Saami Siddiqui and Nicholas Standford. Canada made a pair of changes as Manny Aulakh and Srimantha Wijeyratne sat out in favor of Henry Osinde and Jeremy Gordon.

Perkins and USA captain Steven Taylor opened the batting for USA and took the home side to 34 without loss when Taylor pulled up lame after completing a sharp single midway through the seventh over and had to retire hurt on 14. Surujbally came in and picked up where Taylor left off as he and Perkins cruised along against Canada’s opening pace combo of Osinde and Gordon.

However, the introduction of leg-spinner Junaid Siddiqui halted USA’s momentum, with Surujbally in particular struggling to turn over the strike. As Surujbally struggled for runs at the other end, Perkins took it upon himself to be the aggressor and paid for it with his wicket when he drove uppishly at a full and wide delivery from Rehman and sent a catch to Jimmy Hansra in the covers. Perkins walked off for 46 at 94 for 1 in the 23rd and before long it was clear that USA’s middle order couldn’t handle the pressure that began to be exerted by Siddiqui and Rehman.

Standford lasted eight balls before driving Siddiqui in the air to Rehman at point to register a duck on debut. Karan Ganesh failed to get his feet moving and was struck in front of the stumps by Rehman to be out leg before for 1. Surujbally finally perished for 28 in 54 balls when he played around a full toss from his main tormentor Siddiqui as USA spiraled downward to 100 for 4 in the 25th over.

McGarrell and Timil Patel briefly restored sanity to USA’s innings with a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket. It ended when Canada captain Rizwan Cheema dismissed Patel for 22, the only wicket taken by pace on the day for Canada. Bartley and McGarrell added 35 more for the sixth wicket before McGarrell was bowled by Rehman for 26 to make it 179 for 6 in the 43rd.

Two overs later, Bartley was bowled for 23 to give Rehman his fourth as USA slipped to 186 for 7. Shahid was caught at long on trying to slog Rehman over the ropes but fell for 1 to give Rehman his five-wicket haul. The innings wrapped up three balls into the 50th when Saami Siddiqui and Mital Patel got into a mixup that left Siddiqui run out for 6. With Steven Taylor unable to resume his innings, USA was all out for 194. Rehman’s 5 for 27 included four maidens in his 10 overs while Junaid Siddiqui’s spell was just as debilitating to USA as he finished with 2 for 29 in 10 with two maidens.

Canada had a brief hiccup at the start of their chase when Cheema was caught for 1 thanks to a brilliant tumbling catch by substitute fielder Adil Bhatti running to his right at mid off to give Shahid his maiden wicket at the senior level for USA. Hiral Patel and Ruvindu Gunasekera took the score to 70 in the 16th over before Patel was dismissed. Shahid had dropped him in the previous over off the bowling of McGarrell, but Patel failed to make the most of the reprieve, only lasting three more balls before Ganesh took a spectacular return catch diving to his right in front of Gunasekera at the non-striker’s end to remove Patel for 23.

Rehman’s stellar form with the bat from the two-day match failed to carry over into Friday after he was pinned lbw first-ball to put Ganesh on a hat-trick. Gunasekera fell for a run a ball 40 to Timil Patel thanks to a diving catch running in from long on by sub fielder Adrian Gordon to make it 82 for 4 in the 19th.

Just when it seemed like the tide was turning USA’s way, Usman Limbada thwarted any ambitions of victory by the hosts with an assured innings. Rather than get wrapped up in pressure by spin bowling as USA’s batsmen had, Limbada calmly eased the ball around in tandem with Damodar Daesrath as the two produced a 92-run stand for the fifth wicket. While former West Indies Test spinner McGarrell presented the biggest challenge, neither batsman succumbed to McGarrell during his miserly spell of 0 for 28 in 10 overs.

The stand finally came to an end when Daesrath was run out by Ganesh for 39 with Canada 21 runs away from victory with more than eight overs remaining. Limbada fell in the next over for 64 to Timil Patel as he failed to clear Standford at backward point with an attempted cut to make it 183 for 6.

Canada crawled through the next several overs and entered the 47th still needing eight runs to win. Hamza Tariq then hit the first ball for six and then Hansra hit the fifth ball of the over for another maximum over midwicket to seal the match, spoiling Timil Patel’s figures in the process as he finished with 2 for 49 in 8.5 overs. Ganesh took 2 for 24 in eight overs with his off-spin while medium pacer Shahid finished with 1 for 32 in eight overs with a maiden opening the bowling.

Canada’s tour of the USA concludes on Saturday when the two sides are scheduled to play a pair of Twenty20 matches at the Central Broward Regional Park. A live video stream provided by Cricket Canada in partnership with CBC Sports will be available from 9 a.m. The stream can be viewed at www.cbcsports.ca.

USA Cricket: Canada claws back after early trouble to finish on top after day one of 2012 Auty Cup

openingbat — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:57:00 GMT

Now, you can get all the USA Cricket updates via Facebook. Also follow us on Twitter via@dreamcricket

By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

A solid opening burst by Canada’s Manny Aulakh neutralized any advantage USA might have had after bowling out Canada for 196 as USA finished play on 38 for 3 when bad light ended play early on day one of the two-day 2012 Auty Cup match at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Raza-ur-Rehman finished as the day’s batting star, grafting out a top score of 88 off 197 balls on a bowler friendly wicket.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat first with play starting an hour late due to morning rain and a wet outfield. Naseer Jamali bowled a very impressive opening spell of left arm medium pace, nabbing the first three wickets on the day. After having Ruvindu Gunasekera caught off a no ball in the third over, Jamali got him to flash outside off to a legal delivery in the fifth and had him caught behind by USA captain and wicketkeeper Steven Taylor for a duck to make it 12 for 1.

Image (right) - Naseer Jamali file photo from 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup against India U-19. Jamali had USA's best figures on day one of the 2012 Auty Cup, finishing with 3 for 27. [Courtesy: USACA/Daniela Zaharia]

Fellow opener Hiral Patel was the next to go for 24, prodding defensively at a wide delivery to give Taylor a second catch making it 30 for 2 in the seventh. Jamali struck again on the first ball of the 11th as Ryan Corns caught Srimantha Wijeyratne at backward point for 7 to make it 39 for 3. Jamali finished his opening spell with figures of 3 for 21 off seven overs and ended the day with 3 for 27 in 10.

Adil Bhatti claimed the fourth wicket for USA when Usman Limbada offered a limp drive and feathered a third catch behind the stumps to Taylor for 3 to make it 57 for 4 in the 17th. Left-arm spinner Danial Ahmed kept things very tight at one end, bowling a seven-over spell before lunch for just nine runs, but Jimmy Hansra and Rehman went after leg-spinner Timil Patel and Canada managed to stabilize through their partnership to be 92 for 4 in 29 overs at lunch with Hansra on 16 and Rehman on 39.

Patel appeared to be a different bowler after the lunch break and was the man who broke the partnership between Hansra and Rehman. Hansra tried to flick him to midwicket and missed before being given LBW for 21 to make it 97 for 5 in the 31st. The wicket seemed to lift Patel’s confidence as he bowled marvelously from then on, producing a string of solid LBW shouts as well as beating the outside edge on a regular basis.

Corns replaced Ahmed for more left-arm spin and struck in the 38th over when he had Dasrath Damodar given LBW for 13 after missing a sweep shot to make it 122 for 6. Rizwan Cheema entered and tried to hack Canada out of trouble but he couldn’t clear Timothy Surujbally trying to go straight down the ground for a boundary and was caught for 10 off the bowling of Patel to make it 139 for 7. Patel claimed his second LBW decision two overs later, trapping Hamza Tariq for a duck to make it 139 for 8.

USA could not finish off Canada easily though and it was Rehman and Junaid Siddiqui who produced Canada’s best partnership of the day with 52 runs for the ninth wicket in the span of 20 overs. The pair grinded out runs off of Patel and Ahmed and took Canada to tea at 182 for 8 in 66 overs.

After play resumed, Ahmed was finally rewarded for his hard toil throughout the day with his first wicket in a USA uniform. While he didn’t bowl as many wicket-taking balls as Patel, Ahmed rarely bowled anything loose and continued to exert pressure until it finally paid off, pinning Siddiqui LBW for 22 to make it 191 for 9 in the 69th over. The innings wrapped up four balls into the 71st when Rehman drove Ahmed flat and hard to Karan Ganesh at mid off.

Ahmed finished with 2 for 39 off 19.4 overs including six maidens while Patel rebounded after a rocky first few overs to finish with 3 for 57 in 19 overs with three maidens. Corns finished with 1 for 9 in six overs with two maidens while Bhatti had 1 for 20 in five. Ganesh, Japen Patel and Andy Mohammed all went wicketless in brief spells with the ball.

USA opened their reply with Taylor and William Perkins. Neither man lasted very long though as Canada’s opening bowlers kept tight lines to prevent scoring and claim wickets. Cheema claimed Perkins in the sixth over for 15 after the batsman edged an attempted drive off a full delivery to Hansra at head height at second slip. Taylor went two runs later for 4 to make it 19 for 2 in the seventh, caught at backward point by Limbada off the bowling of Aulakh. Andy Mohammed was caught off the last ball of the ninth, driving very loosely at Aulakh to be caught at third slip by Damodar for a duck as USA fell to 23 for 3.

Surujbally and Ganesh lasted 5.1 overs together before bad light ended play with USA 38 for 3 in 14.1 overs in reply. Surujbally finished play on 15 with Ganesh on 3. Aulakh walked off with figures of 2 for 15 from six overs including two maidens while Cheema had 1 for 13 off five overs including one maiden.

Play is expected to resume at 9:30 a.m. EST from the Central Broward Regional Park with a live video stream of the match made possible by Cricket Canada in partnership with CBC Sports in Canada. The stream can be viewed off www.cbcsports.ca.

USA Cricket: Thyagarajan century headlines trial matches at 2012 National Championship in Florida

openingbat — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 18:27:00 GMT

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By Peter Della Penna (on Twitter)

USA veteran batsman Aditya Thyagarajan produced the top score at this weekend’s 2012 USACA National Championship in Florida as his 109 not out led the Eastern Conference to a 40-run win over the Western Conference on Sunday during a 50-over trial match at Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, Florida. The East posted 256 for 4 before bowling out the West for 216 in the 47th over.

The USACA National Championship wasn’t played in the traditional sense compared to previous years. Rather than have teams selected by their respective regions to compete in a round-robin super league event, this edition saw players hand-picked by USACA representing the “East” and “West” shuffle between rosters during the weekend in order to give players as many opportunities as possible to demonstrate their skill level against national talent. Thyagarajan, based in California, played for the West in a Twenty20 trial match on Saturday while one player, Saqib Saleem, batted and bowled within the same innings in the 50-over match on Sunday.

Thyagarajan entered at number five in the sixth over with the score at 19 for 2. Timothy Surujbally had retired hurt while Steven Taylor and Steve Massiah had been dismissed for 6 and 1 respectively after the East won the toss and elected to bat first. Like he has done on many occasions with the national team, Thyagarajan stabilized his team’s innings by building a 76-run stand with Ravi Timbawala, who made 43 in 67 balls.

Image (right) - Aditya Thyagarajan file photo in action against Denmark at 2012 ICC WCL Division Four in September. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

After Timbawala fell in the 24th over to Timil Patel, Thyagarajan teamed with Karan Ganesh to add 87 runs for the fourth wicket. Ganesh was caught behind off Japen Patel for 38 following which Thyagarajan added 74 more runs in an unbroken fifth wicket partnership with Adil Bhatti. Bhatti finished 35 not out off 28 balls while Thyagarajan’s unbeaten 109 came off 137 balls with eight fours and a six as the East finished on 256 for 4.

In addition to both Patels, Naseer Jamali and Usman Shuja claimed the other two wickets for the West. Shuja finished with 1 for 18 off five while Jamali had 1 for 29 off seven including a maiden. Ten bowlers were used in the innings by the West.

In reply, the West had several players get starts but with the exception of Orlando Baker, no one was able to turn in a significant score. William Perkins, the Trinidad & Tobago batsman who played one T20 International for the West Indies in 2008, made 20 in 19 balls before departing in the sixth over to the left-arm spin of Danial Ahmed. Japen Patel and Baker added 79 for the second wicket to give the West a solid platform to chase the target of 257, but the West was unable to accelerate and wound up losing by a comfortable margin.

Japen Patel made 40 off 74 balls before being dismissed by Saleem to make it 104 for 2 in the 24th. Timil Patel entered at number four and scored 40 off 54 balls but was trapped LBW by medium pacer Hammad Shahid to make it 173 for 3 in the 38th. Baker retired out on 58 off 80 balls at the end of the over with the score on 174, leaving the West needing 83 runs to win in 12 overs with Sushil Nadkarni and Saleem fresh at the crease.

With nine overs to go, the West needed 69 to win. It was then that Ganesh derailed the West’s chances of chasing the runs by taking three wickets in four balls. Ganesh bowled Nadkarni for 5 off the first ball of the 42nd. Two balls later he had Saami Siddiqui caught by Steven Taylor for a duck. He then followed it up by trapping Abhimanyu Rajp leg before to put himself on a hat-trick as the West slumped to 188 for 7.

Shuja was dimissed by Junaid Rasheed for 8, which was sandwiched between the dismissals of Saleem and Adrian Gordon by Bhatti as the West finished all out for 216 in 46.4 overs. Ganesh took 3 for 6 in two overs while Bhatti claimed 2 for 27 in 6.4 overs. Ahmed finished with solid figures of 1 for 32 in 10 overs including a maiden opening the bowling with Elmore Hutchinson, who finished with 0 for 26 in seven overs with two maidens.

In a Twenty20 match trial match on Saturday, Ahmed took 3 for 12 in four overs with a maiden as the East restricted the West to 100 for 7 in 20 overs before scoring 146 for 7 in 20 overs, batting out their full quota after passing the small target of 101. Ahmed claimed the big scalps of Thyagarajan and Nadkarni as well as Timil Patel to finish with the best bowling figures on the day. Nadkarni’s 30 off 34 balls was the high score in the first innings with 17 extras contributing to the total. Adil Bhatti claimed 2 for 12 in four overs while the other two wickets were a result of runouts.

In the East innings, Taylor was dismissed in the second over without scoring for an early setback. Perkins and Surujbally responded by blitzing the Western bowling unit for 77 runs in just 5.4 overs before both batsmen retired at the end of the seventh over with the score on 86. Perkins tallied 48 off 18 balls with three boundaries and five sixes while Surujbally walked off after scoring 35 off 22 balls including five fours and a six. Japen Patel had the next best contribution with 22 off 28 balls. Leg-spinner Saleem finished with 2 for 22 in four overs, claiming the wickets of Japen Patel and Andy Mohammed. Shahid, Hutchinson and Baker took a wicket each.